The Final Bell
by Kamije Celeek
Summary: High school is enough of a bitch without adding blackmail and heartbreak to the mix. Max will have to own up to his actions when that final bell rings or face the consequences of messing around in people's lives...
1. Prologue: The Knockout

The final bell.

For most kids, it's a symbol of freedom. It signals the end of a long day of school and the beginning of a few hours of liberty and peace. At the final bell, kids go to their lockers and head home for the day, or they wait for the bus or their parents to come pick them up. In short, most people are happy when they hear that bell.

Nicolette Virginia Morrison was _not_ most people.

No, today, when she heard that final bell, the hurt and anger she'd been carrying around in her gut for a week bubbled to the surface. It was the final day of school before Spring Break, and she was _furious_. That bell rang and she left her classroom, ignoring the calls of her friends as she headed to her locker. It snapped open with ease and she glanced at a picture stuck to the door. A picture of her and _him_.

Just _looking_ at his face made her want to punch something.

Or someone.

"Okay, it'll be done by the time we come back from break."

And as if someone was listening, _he_ was behind her. Acting as if he hadn't betrayed her trust. Acting as if he was completely innocent. As if he _didn't. Fucking. Care._

Nikki turned and saw him walking through the hallway with a guy she didn't know well. His name was Joseph something—it didn't matter. What mattered was that he was _smirking_.

The goddamn bastard.

Nikki had never understood the meaning of heartbreak. She'd never been in love. She'd never trusted her heart to somebody, only to have them stomp it to pieces and act like she hadn't given them _shit_.

That was before _him_.

She'd told him things she'd never told anyone before. She'd shown him the part of her she kept hidden from the world out of fear. He was her first kiss, her first make-out session, her first love, her first boyfriend. She'd given him those kisses, those make-out sessions, her heart.

And her virginity.

After all that, he'd only been doing because _a girl paid him to hurt her_.

She was _angry_ , and hurt, and he needed to pay.

Quickly, she shut her locker and began weaving her way through the crowd, stuffing the picture in her pocket as she went. Her eyes were trained on the back of his head, her mind on one thing and one thing only.

 _Making him pay._

She could hear her stepbrother's voice, calling her to come back so they could go home, but she ignored him. He was getting closer and closer.

Both of them were outside the school, now, and he'd reached the bottom of the stairs. He took out his phone and checked his messages, not realizing that she was behind him. Quietly, she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see who it was…

And Nikki's fist went flying into Max's face.

* * *

Let's go back a bit, shall we? Back before this confrontation, before Nikki's heartbreak and Max's betrayal. Because neither of those is the beginning of the story. No, our story begins in a small town called Sleepy Peak. A nice town, to be sure. Located near scenic Lake Lilac, with half the town owned by crooked con man, Cameron Campbell. In this small town, there were two high schools, located in opposite school zones.

And our story _truly_ begins at Sleepy Peak High.

At Sleepy Peak High, there was a food chain, like every other school, and at _this_ school, Sasha Harris ruled over all with an iron fist. Everybody _knew_ not to cross her or her small inner circle—a circle that included just three people.

Erin Roberts, Tabii Nichols, and Max Greene.

Now, two of those are understandable. Every queen bee worth her _salt_ has at least two mindless female minions backing her up—Regina George in _Mean Girls_ and Heather Chandler in _Heathers_ being two famous examples. Max, however, was a mystery to most of the student body. He was the son of Mr. Greene, one of the teachers, and also known for having an underground homework ring. You wanted an assignment done or a person messed with? See Max.

Okay, so _maybe_ him hanging out with Sasha made more sense than people thought, but still. People whispered that he and Sasha were dating, or that they were fuck buddies. Neither of those two rumors were true, but that didn't stop people from saying them.

Since Max's dad was a teacher, that meant that his little side business had to stay off the radar, which it did. For the first two years of high school, Max was considered one of the top students in the school.

Then, right before junior year started, David dropped a bomb on Max.

They were moving across town.

Granted, it was only because David had gotten a job at Campbell High and wanted to live closer to his new job. And his girlfriend was moving in with them, so their tiny apartment-for-two wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Sasha, of course, wasn't happy that she was losing her homework guy. She wanted nothing more than to finish coasting through high school with Max's fantastic work on her record, but that wasn't going to be possible anymore.

Now he was going to school with her worst enemy.

 _Nicolette Virginia Morrison_.

There was _nobody_ the queen bee hated more than that outdoorsy little tomboy. Nikki was the bane of Sasha's existence, and Sasha was determined to bring her down.

And she intended to use Max to do it.

You see, Max's system on favors was that he would do anything as long as you paid him the right price. His limits were assault, sex, and murder, but anything else was fair game. Sasha knew this, and she intended to use his policies to get to Nikki and crush her in the purest sense of the word. After all, little tomboys didn't have the same emotions _true_ girls had, right? It wasn't like Nikki would actually _fall for Max!_

Right?


	2. First Meeting

"David, this is stupid."

David looked up to see Max carrying the last of the boxes from the car.

"Oh, come on, Max," he said cheerfully. "We're finally in an actual house instead of an apartment!"

"Great, but did _Gwen_ have to move in with us?"

"It's financial sense, you little shit," Gwen snapped, setting down a chair. "David and I make enough between the two of us to afford this place _and_ whatever else we need."

"Yeah, but I'm in high school! Now I have to _fucking_ start over at a new school with a bunch of assholes I don't know!"

"Language," David warned.

"Suck a dick."

Gwen snorted at the exchange. Max was a little shit sometimes, but the kid knew how to make her laugh, whether it was intentional or not.

"Well, this change will be good for us! You'll see! We have space for you to have friends over or do whatever you want, provided it's legal."

"And I don't care." Max headed up to his new room, where his mattress lay on the floor. His bed frame had yet to be assembled, but he didn't give a fuck. He sat down on the mattress as his phone beeped to let him know he had a text.

 _You moved in yet?_

 _ **Just finished bringing shit in.**_

 _ **We're in an actual house now, so there's that.**_

 _Gonna miss you at SPHS._

 _ **No, you'll miss me doing your homework. Not me.**_

 _Whatever._

 _ **What do you want, Sasha?**_

 _How shallow of you to assume I want something._

 _You know what they say about assume._

 _ **Bullshit. You want something.**_

 _Believe it or not, I don't._

 _Enjoy your new school and all the lame losers that go there._

 _ **Anybody to watch out for?**_

 _There's this one guy named Neil—Tabii's had a crush on him since middle school._

 _Total nerd. Science and all that shit._

 _Nobody else of note._

 _ **Thanks. Talk to you later.**_

Max set down his phone and sighed. He hated that Sasha still had a grip on him, despite the fact that they now lived on opposite sides of town and went to separate schools. He was tempted to just delete her number, but she'd been one of his biggest sources of cash back at SPHS. He wasn't ready to cut that cord just yet. Maybe he'd get in with the popular crowd at Campbell High, but that was unlikely.

"Max!"

He groaned at the sound of Gwen's voice.

"What the fuck do you want?" he called.

"Language!" David sang. Gwen poked her head into Max's room.

"We need you to head over to Sleepy Peak Pizza Bros. and pick up a large pepperoni for dinner."

"What, they don't deliver?"

"No, and they won't let me order online or over the phone, so you have to go get it."

"Fine. Give me the keys." Gwen tossed him the keys and Max got up. "I'll be back."

"You'd better."

Max headed out the door and started the car, David waving to him from the front window. The teenager rolled his eyes at his adoptive father's behavior and backed down the driveway. Luckily, Sleepy Peak Pizza was one of the few places in town that Max knew how to get to by heart, so it was easy to navigate the streets to get there.

In the parking lot, there were three cars—an old-as-fuck pickup truck, a minivan, and a normal-ass car with a 'Human by Form, Wolf by Nature' bumper sticker. He smirked and parked next to it, noting that there was a pair of lab safety goggles on the passenger seat. Once the car was locked, Max headed inside.

Inside, he could see a mom with four kids (minivan people) and a redneck wearing a rebel flag hat (truck). In the booth he, David, and Gwen usually sat in were a pair of kids his age. The girl had shoulder-length pale green hair, while the boy was skinny and frail-looking.

 _Huh. Well, weirder couples exist. Just look at David and Gwen._

He ordered the pizza and leaned against the counter. He chose to people-watch while he waited—not that it lasted very long, given the fact that the redneck and family of five ducked out within five minutes of Max's arrival. Out of sheer boredom, he decided to strike up a conversation with the two people his own age.

"S'up?" he greeted them.

"Hey," the guy greeted him, turning around. "You new around here?"

"New to this side of town, yeah. Name's Max."

"I'm Nikki!" the girl piped up brightly. Max smirked. "And this is my brother, Neil!"

"So, you guys go to Campbell High?"

"Yep! We'll be juniors come Monday! Whoo-hoo!" She tossed her slice of pizza in the air and caught it in her mouth. Max couldn't help but laugh along with Neil at that.

"Me, too."

"And, just to clarify, we aren't _actual_ siblings!" Neil interrupted. "We're _step_ siblings. Her mom married my dad."

"Kinda figured. It was either that or your mom likes to sleep around."

"Oh, she does," Nikki laughed. "I'm the only child she's given birth to, though."

"Jesus Christ."

"One large pepperoni for… Greene!" the clerk called. "Do we have a Greene?"

"Well, gotta go. Nice meeting you both."

Max grabbed the pizza and headed back to the house. David and Gwen were unpacking the boxes in the kitchen and putting things where they belonged. The teenager of the house put the box on the table and took a slice.

"Oh, great!" Gwen breathed, dusting off her hands. "Food!"

"Any trouble?" David asked, getting out a plate and putting a slice on it.

"Nah. Met a couple of kids from Campbell High, though. Their names are Neil and Nikki."

"Huh. They related?" Gwen inquired.

"Stepsiblings. You know them?"

"I used to babysit those little shits. Neil was whiny and Nikki was overly energetic."

Max pointed at David.

"Hey! I never said they were _bad_ qualities."

"Aw, thanks, Gwen," David gushed, giving her a hug.

"And I'm going to my room," Max announced. "See ya."

He headed back to his room and laid on his mattress. His phone rang and he saw it was Sasha calling.

"S'up, bitch?" he greeted her.

 _"I'm just calling to see how you're doing."_

" _Christ_ , Sasha. We were literally texting less than an hour ago. Speaking of which, I met a couple of kids from Campbell High."

 _"Oh, which ones?"_

"Pair of stepsiblings. One of them was that guy you told me about—Neil. You're right. He's a fucking nerd."

 _"Of course I was right! I'm always right about people."_

"And the other one was this girl named Nikki."

Silence.

"Sasha, you there?"

 _"Did she have long green hair and pink eyes?"_

"Yes on the colors, no on the long hair. It only went down to her shoulders. Do you know her?"

 _"I did, back in middle school. I'll call you later. I've got something I need to do."_

Max shrugged as he hung up and stared at the ceiling above him.


	3. Mondays Can Bite My Ass

_Monday morning can bite my ass._

That was the thought going through Max's head as his alarm went off. He grabbed his phone and hit snooze on the alarm. However, it just went off again five minutes later. This time, he turned it off and got out of bed, knowing that David would be coming to get him if he dragged his feet any more. He got ready to go and headed down to the kitchen, where he found David had made the first-day-of-school breakfast he always did—pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and a choice of juice or coffee. Max, of course, chose the coffee and drowned his pancakes in syrup.

"Morning!" Gwen greeted them, dashing into the kitchen. She was frantically putting her hair up in a bun and her heels clacked against the tile floor. "Sorry. Got a lot on my mind."

"Eat some breakfast. It'll help you," David encouraged. Gwen grabbed a plate and put her breakfast on it.

"Seriously, David, you're the best fucking boyfriend I could ask for," she sighed, sitting down.

"Well, we've all got to have the strength to get through the day if we're starting these new lives of ours!"

"True."

Max finished his food and put the plate in the dishwasher.

"I'm going to grab my backpack. See you in the car, David."

"See you, Max!" David replied cheerfully.

"You really think this year's going to go well?" Gwen asked.

"It'll be _great_ , Gwen! New school, new possibilities… and you have your new job!"

"Let's see how long _that_ lasts." She finished her coffee. "I'm off to work. See you when I get home."

David nodded and put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher before grabbing his briefcase. True to his word, Max was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, staring at his phone with the windows down and the music going. His adoptive father sighed and got into the driver's seat.

"You ready to go, Max?" he asked excitedly.

"Ready as I can be. This school will have the same assholes as my other one."

"Oh. Okay, then." David backed down the driveway and headed for Campbell High. The black-haired teen looked out the window as they pulled up.

Max had to admit that Campbell High was a _hell_ of a lot nicer than Sleepy Peak. The campus was better-maintained, the school looked more sleek and modern, and there were plenty of places where he could conduct 'business' without being considered suspicious. David parked the car in the teachers' lot and they headed inside. David went into the front office, where Max noticed a girl of Hispanic descent with long, dark brown hair sitting by the door labeled 'Principal'. He decided to ignore her and keep walking.

* * *

His first four classes were standard, at best. He'd found out Nikki was in the same history, English, and gym classes as him, but so far, Neil was only in his science class. Max had become his lab partner due to the fact that Neil was the only person he knew in the class. Now it was lunchtime and Max was ready for the day to be over.

"Max!" he heard Nikki calling. The green-haired girl was waving from a table where she was sitting with Neil and some other kids Max didn't know. Max shrugged and sat down with them.

"What do you think of the school so far?" Neil inquired.

"Eh. Not that different from Sleepy Peak, to be honest. It looks different but functions the same."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" said a girl with glasses. "I'm Nerris, by the way."

"Max."

"And I'm Harrison," added the other kid Max hadn't known.

"Great. Now, what do you mean this place isn't the same?"

"Well…" Nikki sighed, pulling out a notebook. "This school has a social structure."

"Yeah, so did Sleepy Peak."

"Not like this. At the top is Rosemary Campbell, Principal Campbell's daughter."

"You don't want to get on her bad side," Neil warned.

"Noted. Queen bee or alpha bitch. Who else?"

"There's the typical people you find: the jocks, the nerds, the art kids, the burnouts, the troublemakers."

"I thought you guys would sit with your groups, to be honest."

"Neil and I have been friends since grade school," Nikki explained. "The jocks wouldn't let Neil sit with us and the nerds were scared to let me sit with them, so we have our own group."

"They let me and Nerris sit with them on the first day of freshman year," Harrison added. "And we've had our group ever since."

"Huh. Surprised Alpha Bitch allows it."

"Because she's _not_ an alpha bitch," Nikki sighed, rolling her eyes. "She's more like the alpha of a wolf pack—tough but welcoming to those who are loyal to her, like us. We don't mess with her and she leaves us alone."

"Who's the bottom tier around here?"

"The burnouts," Neil replied simply. "They're just coasting through high school and waiting for graduation."

"Huh. Back at Sleepy Peak, the nerds were bottom-tier and the burnouts were considered cool."

"Rosemary's brother is the leader of the burnouts and she hates him, so they're relegated to the bottom."

"Good to note."

"Here." Nikki handed him the notebook. "For reference."

"That's mine!" Neil protested.

"Oh, pipe down! You've got a billion notebooks."

"Well, now it's nine-hundred ninety-nine million, nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine."

"And this is why Nurf bullies you."

"Hey!"

Max snickered and turned to his food.

"Back to the list—there's a few teachers you need to watch out for. First, there's Mr. Koresh and Miss Applewhite. We're pretty sure they're cultists because they're _unnaturally_ happy all the time. Then there's Mr. Greene. He's new here and I'm pretty sure he's not in a cult, but he's still unnaturally happy."

"I think he's gay," Nikki added. Max choked on his milk and started laughing. "What?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I know for a fact he has a girlfriend."

"How do you know?" Nerris inquired, tilting her head.

"Because I'm his son."

" _You're_ his 'precious angel child'?" Neil said in disbelief, putting air quotes around his words.

"Yeah, he tends to exaggerate, but he's my dad."

"My mom calls me her 'angel', too," Nikki sighed. "It's annoying."

"Glad to hear someone gets it."

Maybe he'd like this new school after all.

* * *

"How was your first day back?"

Nikki looked up from her food to her stepdad, being all lame as usual.

"It was fine," she replied. "Neil and I ran into that Max kid from the pizza parlor again. He's in a few of our classes and he ate lunch with us."

"And is this 'Max' someone you're interested in?" Candy asked with a smile.

"Nope! Not _that_ way, anyway. He seems like a cool friend, at least."

"Good."

"I'm done eating now. Can I go to my room?"

"Well, I'm sure you _can_ ," Carl chuckled.

"Fine. _May_ I go to my room?"

"Yes, you may."

Nikki put her plate away and headed to her room. She climbed up the ladder to the loft bed she'd insisted on and flopped onto the mattress. Her phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

 _Hey._

 _It's Max. I got your number from Neil._

 _That's some shit friends do, right?_

 _ **Yep!**_

 _ **Welcome to the world of Campbell High.**_

 _Cool._

 _Better than Sleepy Peak. The people are less fucking shitty._

 _ **Yeah.**_

 _ **I went to Sleepy Peak Middle during middle school.**_

 _ **Not a lot of good memories of the people there.**_

 _ **You know, other than Neil.**_

 _It's still that way, I guess._

 _Only had a few people I'd actually call 'friends' and even then it was just a business arrangement._

 _ **What kind of 'business'?**_

 _Homework bullshit._

 _The kind of business that teachers hate because kids don't do their own work._

 _ **And your dad's a teacher. Shame.**_

 _Hey, your mom's a slut._

 _ **True.**_

 _ **But don't slut-shame my mom.**_

 _ **I can do that on my own.**_

 _With Neil's help._

 _ **Ha ha, yeah.**_

 _ **See you tomorrow!**_

 _See ya._

She put her phone down and felt herself smiling.


	4. The Job

_How goes Campbell High? Stupid and shitty?_

 _ **Actually, better than you'd think.**_

 _ **Found out who the top of the food chain is and I'm making it a point to avoid her.**_

 _God, is it fucking Rosemary Campbell?'_

 _ **Yep.**_

 _She's such a bitch._

 _But she's not the reason I'm texting you._

 _I have a job for you._

 _ **How about you fucking call me like a normal-ass person?**_

 _Fine._

Max's phone rang and he picked up.

 _"Happy?"_ Sasha snapped.

"Very. Now, what's the job?"

 _"Well, you mentioned that you met Nikki and I wanted to talk to you about her before you get involved."_

"She seems cool. What'd she do to you?"

 _"It was middle school. Remember that Girl Scout troop I told you I was a part of? Well, Nikki was part of it, too. She was the ringleader of a group of girls within the troop, a group of stone-cold_ **bitches** _. Anyway, the spring of sixth grade, we went on a camping trip as a troop and she decided to pull some shit on me. She cut off one of my pigtails and got me left in the woods by everyone else. The troop disbanded after the adults found out what she did, but she keeps trying to play the victim."_

"What does _any of that_ have to do with me?"

 _"I want you to hurt her."_

"Nope. Not happening."

 _"Not physically! I want you to find out stuff about her—personal stuff that would_ **crush her** _if it got out. Get in her head. Pretend to date her if you have to."_

"Hm… how much you paying?"

 _"Five hundred up front, a thousand when the job is done."_

"Fifteen hundred?! Are you _shitting_ me?"

 _"This girl needs to_ **pay** _, Max! I'm willing to give you the money. Are you willing to do the job?"_

Max thought it over. If Nikki had really done that shit to Sasha, then she wasn't as cool as he'd thought. Plus, fifteen hundred bucks was a _lot_ of money—more than he'd made in the past two years _combined_. Was it worth it? Maybe. He wasn't the type to fall in love or any of that shit, so he'd be able to do it without attachment.

"Sure. I'll pick up the five hundred at Naomi's. Meet me there Saturday at three."

 _"Fine. See you then."_

He hung up and sighed.

* * *

"Where the fuck is she?" he muttered, sitting by the window.

"Black coffee with dark-chocolate-chip cookies?"

He looked up to see Naomi.

"I didn't order."

"You looked like you have a lot on your mind. It's your usual order, so I thought I'd go ahead and put it in."

"Uh… thanks." She set the mug and little plate on the table in front of him.

"No problem. I'll be in back. Let me know when Sasha gets here and I'll have her _pumpkin spice_ ready to go." She said 'pumpkin spice' as if she was sick of serving basic-white-girl bullshit.

"Got it." Naomi headed in back and Sasha entered almost immediately after.

"You already ordered?" she whined.

"I didn't. Naomi knows our orders like the back of her hand. She's making yours right now."

"Good. I _need_ my pumpkin spice." She sat across from him.

"You got it?"

"Yeah." She pulled a manila envelope out of her purse and slid it over to him. He put it in his backpack and sipped his coffee. "So, you've been hanging out with Nikki?"

"I ran into her before school started and I eat lunch with her. Her group's decent and they've been helping me get adjusted."

"Just keep your eye on her. She'll stab you in the back sooner than look at you."

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Get closer to her! Be her best friend, be her _boyfriend_. I don't care. Just make it so that when you ditch her it hurts her just as much as she hurt me."

"Jesus. Calm the fuck down, Sasha."

"Sorry. School is stressing me out."

"It's literally been less than a week."

"And the teachers are _so hard_ on us! Just because we're juniors…"

"Here's your pumpkin spice," Naomi sighed, setting the drink in front of Sasha. "Do you want anything else?"

"No. Just my latte." She sipped the drink and Naomi rolled her eyes before heading into the back.

"How do I start, now?"

"Just text her and say you wanna hang out or something. Pick a place and invite her and her lame-ass brother, too." Max pulled out his phone.

 _ **Hey, wanna hang out somewhere?**_

 _Depends._

 _Where are we going?_

 _ **I dunno.**_

 _ **Park or some shit?**_

 _How about downtown? On Main Street?_

 _Plenty of people-watching and I'm the MASTER of the Whack-a-Mole in the arcade._

 _ **Wanna test that?**_

 _Bring it, Maxie-Pad._

 _ **Don't call me that.**_

 _Too late._

 _ **Hey, invite Neil along too.**_

 _Nah, he's busy with some science stuff._

 _Just you and me!_

 _See you at the arcade!_

Max showed the conversation to Sasha, who smirked.

"Cute. It seems like you're already working your charm on her."

"What charm?"

"Uh, the same charm that's the reason almost _every_ straight girl at our school wanted a piece of you."

"I resent that." He stood up and looked towards the kitchen. "Hey, Naomi! Can I get some stuff to go?"

"What are you doing?"

"It's only fair I bring her something."

"Black coffee and cookies?" Naomi asked, coming out.

"The coffee, but also some of the strawberry tarts and a hot chocolate."

"You got a date?"

"Something like that."

* * *

Nikki was sitting on a bench near the arcade. Worriedly, she checked her phone and reread the text she'd gotten from Max.

 _Just got coffee at Naomi's. On my way._

 _ **Okay. I'm near the arcade.**_

She let out a sigh.

 _He's not going to show, is he?_

"What's up, Nik?"

She turned to see him holding two cups with _Naomi's_ written in its distinctive swirl style and a paper bag.

"What'd you get?" she asked.

"I got myself a coffee and you a hot chocolate. And some of Naomi's strawberry tarts."

"Gimme!"

"Ah! What's the magic word?"

" _Please?_ " She fluttered her lashes.

"Fine."

 _Was he… blushing?_

He handed her one of the cups and the paper bag. Eagerly, she began drinking the hot chocolate and eating the tarts as he sat down beside her.

"So, you like Naomi's?" he asked.

" _Like_ Naomi's? I don't think there's anybody in Sleepy Peak who _doesn't_! She's a sweet lady with an even _sweeter_ business!"

"I met her right after she opened the place. She's always willing to listen if you've got a problem." He smirked. "Do you wanna defend your 'Master of Whack-a-Mole title or do you wanna stuff your face?"

"Both!" She finished the last tart and her hot chocolate. "Let's go!"

She grabbed his wrist and yanked him along down the street. A warm feeling was in her belly, one she couldn't quite explain as they entered Campbell Arcade (God, that guy really owned _almost everything_ , didn't he?). Still, they came to the Whack-a-Mole, where she pointed at the high score on the board.

"See? NVM—Nikki V. Morrison."

"What's the 'V' stand for?"

"None of your business." She put a couple quarters in the machine. "Let's see how good you are, Max Greene."

"I'm first, then." He picked up the hammer and started bringing it down on the moles almost as fast as they popped up. In the end, though, he still couldn't beat Nikki's score.

"See? Told you I'm the master!"

"How the _fuck_ do you even _get_ a score that high on this stupid game?"

"Lots of practice." She smiled and wandered off.

"Hey!" He grabbed the tickets from the machine and followed her.

* * *

"Hey, Max! How was your day?"

Max jumped at the sound of David's voice. He poked his head in the living room to see his adoptive father poring over his lesson planning binder.

"It was good. Went to Naomi's for coffee and I hung out with Nikki downtown."

"I met her in one of my classes. She's quite a drummer and a very sweet girl!"

"Yeah, she's cool." He thought back to when she'd fluttered her eyelashes earlier and his face heated up. "I'm gonna go to my room and listen to some music."

"Wait, before you do…"

"Fucking hell."

"Come sit down for a minute."

Max sat down in one of the chairs and stared.

"What is it?"

"Well, our seasonal camping trip is coming up, and I was wondering if you had a friend you wanted to bring."

"Why?"

"Because Gwen's coming, and I thought you'd enjoy having someone your own age to talk to instead of just us." Max raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that reasoning.

Did Nikki like camping? Three days away from Sleepy Peak while that stupid 'Lakefest' music festival was going on sounded great, and like an opportunity to learn more about Nikki. He'd have to ask her.

"I might have someone in mind. Thanks, David."

"You're welcome."

Max headed up to his room, where his phone vibrated in his pocket with a message.

 _How was your 'date'?_

 _ **It was fine. She freaked out over the tarts because apparently they're her favorite.**_

 _Aw, such a good boyfriend._

 _ **Shut the fuck up.**_

 _ **I'm only doing this because you're paying me.**_

 _Whatever. Did you find out anything?_

 _ **She's impossibly good at Whack-a-Mole.**_

 _Will you take this seriously?!_

 _ **I am. I didn't find anything out yet. Calm your tits.**_

 _MY TITS ARE CALM!_

 _ **Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.**_

 _Fuck you._

 _ **Right back at you.**_

He set his phone aside and laid on his bed, just looking at the ceiling.

 _It was a fluke. There's no way I like her that way. It's just a job._

Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew that was wrong…


	5. A Trip to the Lake

"Are you _sure_ you have everything?"

"Pants, shirts, socks, underwear, _extra_ of everything, rain coat, rain boots, umbrella, hiking boots, sneakers, and sandals," Max rattled off. "Wait, I _did_ forget something."

"What was it?!" David asked worriedly as Gwen put her duffel bag in the trunk.

"The kitchen sink." Gwen started snickering as David blushed. "Relax, David. I've got everything I need to go camping for three days."

"Good. You know how I worry."

"Yeah, I do."

"Now all we need is Nikki and we're set to go!"

As if on cue, a snazzy-looking red car pulled up, driven by Nikki's mother. Nikki got out of the passenger seat and the trunk popped open so she could get her bag out. Candy herself got out and walked up to David and Gwen.

"You must be Max's parents," she stated. "I'm Candy, Nicolette's mother."

"I know you, Candy," Gwen sighed. "I used to babysit Nikki a lot."

"Oh, Gwen! I _thought_ I recognized you! I just wanted to make sure that you two will be able to handle my little angel over the weekend."

"It's no problem, Miss Morrison!" David piped up.

"It's Mrs. Kramer now. Married Carl Kramer a few years ago."

"Oh. Well, congratulations! And I'm _sure_ Nikki will be no problem."

"Good." Nikki put her bag in the trunk of David's car. "Nicolette, behave yourself."

"Yes, Mom. Nothing illegal, don't get arrested, and don't get pregnant."

"Good girl." She patted her daughter on the head, leaving David very confused. "Well, I'll be off now. See you in a few days!"

Candy hopped back into her car and drove off. Nikki simply climbed into the backseat with Max as David and Gwen got into the front. David adjusted the rear-view mirror so that he could see the two teenagers in the back and smiled.

"Don't worry!" he assured his three passengers. "This'll be a fun trip, one you'll always remember! Now, don't forget that it's an hour drive to Lake Lilac! I even have the Farmer's Almanac on tape!"

" _No_ ," Gwen and Max stated in unison.

"Aw."

"Let's just listen to the radio," Max suggested. "Maybe put on something that _won't_ bore us to death."

"All right, then!" David turned on the classical station, which was fine for a one-hour car ride.

"So, this is a usual thing?" Nikki asked Max.

"Yeah. We go once a season, usually during a break. And usually, it's just me and David."

"He invited Gwen and let you invite me?"

"Pretty much. He loves camping and the outdoors, no matter what time of year it is."

"I'm just happy to be avoiding Lakefest. I hate it there."

"Same here. All the assholes with their shitty music and even shitter clothes."

"Not to mention all the traffic."

"That's why I'm grateful for this stupid trip."

They stopped talking and Nikki pulled out her phone to play some games. Max took the opportunity to doze off. No need to text Sasha; there was no signal out at the lake and she had no idea the trip was even happening. Well, she knew _he_ was going up there. She just didn't know Nikki was going, too.

* * *

The campsite was exactly how Max remembered it: barren as hell, with a fire-pit and holes in the ground being the only signs of human interference. David had built the pit himself, back before he'd even graduated high school. It was on the top of a hill overlooking the lake—a beautiful and romantic view. Max suspected David had brought dates here without any luck in the past.

"Here we are!" David announced. "Let's get those tents set up! Me and Gwen will be in one tent while Max and Nikki will be in the other."

"Let me stop you right there," Gwen interrupted. "You're putting two teenagers in the _same tent_?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Dammit, David. Look, me and Nikki will be in the same tent and you can share with Max, got it?"

"Okay, then!"

David and Gwen each grabbed a tent from the car and the two kids helped them set up. Once everything was done, David pulled out a pair of binoculars and his hiking backpack. Gwen set up a lawn chair and sat back with a romance novel. That left Max and Nikki on their own.

"Wanna go down to the lake?" Max asked her.

"Sure!"

"Stay together!" Gwen called as they walked off.

"Enjoy your shitty romance novel!" Max retorted.

"You _really_ don't like Gwen, do you?" Nikki inquired as they walked.

"She's cooler than David. She doesn't give a shit about my language or whatever and she has the same world view I do."

"She seems kinda nice."

"Yep." Max picked up a rock and threw it. It skipped across the water three times before sinking.

"Neil always takes a scientific approach to this." Nikki picked up a rock. "Twenty-degree angle in the hand, and a twenty-degree angle to the water, and…" She threw it and it bounced half a dozen times.

"Damn! Guess nerd boy's good for something after all!"

"He's a good friend and he has a _lot_ of weird little notes."

"Anything on how to be less lame?"

"Spreadsheets."

Max burst out laughing and Nikki did, too. It was a warm sound that made Max want to hug her, but he refrained. That's when he spotted something on the ground leading away from the lake.

"Hey, check it out." She looked at the ground and gasped.

"Those are bear tracks! Let's follow them!"

"Uh, _bear tracks_? I'd rather _not_ get mauled today, thank you."

"No, it's fine! Neil and I did this _all the time_ when we were little, and we never got hurt!"

"Fine. As long as you swear I won't get mauled."

"I _promise_ you'll come back in one piece."

They followed the tracks through the woods and to a cave, where they discovered a bear… _skeleton_. Nikki frowned at the sight.

"Aw," she sighed.

"That's actually really depressing," Max commented. "Let's head back."

A _hiss_ came from the shadows. They both stared as a platypus came into view.

"A platypus? Last time I checked, we weren't in Australia."

"The Campbell High mascot is a platypus," Nikki informed him. "Maybe we can take this guy back with us." She held out her arms. "You're coming with Mama."

The platypus hissed again and reared up on its beaver tail, snarling as it kicked at them.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Max yelped, grabbing Nikki's hand. They ran out of the cave, the platypus hot on their trail as they went. She was laughing maniacally, he assumed from the adrenaline, and they quickly found their way back to the lake. His heart was pounding as they ran for the campsite up the hill and Gwen stood up as soon as she saw them coming.

"It wants _blood_!" Nikki yelled as Max pulled her along. Gwen caught sight of the platypus and grabbed it by the tail before it could reach them.

"What the fuck do you kids think you're doing?" she asked, the platypus wiggling frantically to escape her grasp.

"We went looking for a bear!" Nikki explained.

"And found a platypus," Max finished. Gwen looked from them to the platypus and sighed before letting it go. Her eyes then landed on Max and Nikki's still-connected hands.

"Well, they _do_ say near-death experiences bring people together…" Max and Nikki glanced down and realized they were still holding hands. Both let go, blushing profusely.

"Hello, family!"

They all turned to see David, returned from his hike and ready to make dinner.

That alleviated _some_ of the awkwardness, at least.

* * *

"So, you and Max, huh?"

Nikki blushed at Gwen's words as they sat in their tent, about to go to sleep.

"Max and I are just friends," she stated. "Nothing more."

"You know, I've been with David since he moved to Sleepy Peak almost three years ago. Max has _never_ shown interest in any girl that I know of—much less invite her on the camping trip."

"Most girls don't like camping. Even _I_ don't like it as much as I used to. Had a bad experience a while back, you know?"

"I get it. But, in all seriousness, do you like Max?"

"I… I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I've never really been in love before. I don't even think it really exists."

"Then what do you call it?"

"My dad's obsessed with my mom, and so's my stepdad. My mom uses both of them for their money, and she forces me to be someone I'm not. I guess the closest thing I've seen to love is you and David."

"Yeah, I'm not the type that guys _typically_ get obsessed over, and David's a high school teacher. That should tell you how much I care about his money."

"Maybe I like him a little bit, but I don't want to force him to be with me just so it's not awkward."

"Take a chance, Nikki. I did with David, and look where we are now."

"Thanks for the advice, Gwen."

"Good thing their tent's on the opposite side of the site, too."

"Yep! Night, Gwen!"

* * *

Max was lying in his and David's tent, awake. That same warm feeling that he'd felt from Nikki on their first 'date' had popped up again while he was holding her hand. He didn't even know _why_ he'd grabbed her hand in the first place. Some stupid instinct had told him to get her to safety as quickly as possible, to protect her.

 _Do I… no. That's stupid._

He clutched his ratty, worn teddy bear closer.

 _I can't like her. Not like that. Besides, I'm supposed to hurt her. There's a_ **thousand bucks** _on the fucking line, Max. You fail this and you can kiss your easiest source of income goodbye._

 _Her hand was so warm and soft…_

 _No! Focus, you idiot! Learn more about her and focus on the job at hand._

 _She's got nice eyes._

 _Focus!_

Somehow, in the midst of that _stirring_ mental argument, he managed to fall asleep.

* * *

The second day of their camping trip was better than the first. The four of them ended up going out on the lake fishing, which had the results of Nikki catching a huge fish (which they would eat for dinner), Gwen knocking David's tackle-box into the water by accident, and David falling out of the boat while trying to retrieve said tackle-box. Max took pictures of the whole thing, which he made sure to save for later. Once they got back to shore, they headed back to the tents. As the sun set and night fell over the lake, a fire roared in the fire-pit. Max and Nikki roasted marshmallows over the flames while Gwen told a scary story.

"Hey, Gwen?" David said.

"What's up, David?" she replied. He took a deep breath.

"We've… been together for a few years now. In fact, as of today, it's our third anniversary." Gwen gasped and looked panicked. Max gave her a look that said, 'you're fucked.'

"Fuck, that's today?! But I didn't get you anything—"

"And you didn't have to. I know anniversaries aren't your thing, and you're kinda bad with dates. My point is, you're an amazing person, and I'm glad to have been dating you." Max and Nikki glanced at each other, not knowing what was coming. "But… I'm not sure dating you is enough anymore."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm _asking_ … if you're willing to spend the rest of your life with me?"

As if to punctuate the moment, he pulled out a small velvet box, got down on one knee, and popped it open to reveal a ring. Gwen was speechless, as were Max and Nikki. Then Gwen realized David was waiting for an answer still.

"David, of _course_ I will." He stood up, slid the ring on her finger, and gave her a kiss. Nikki and Max started clapping and cheering. Both of the adults started laughing.

"About time, you dumbass!" Max called out. Nikki shoved him in the shoulder.

"Let them be happy," she giggled.

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

That giggle sent Max's thoughts and heartrate into overdrive. He felt his cheeks heating up from more than the fire. Thankfully, the firelight hid his blush.

"This is the start of a new era!" David declared. Then he noticed his son's awkward looks towards Nikki. "Max, something wrong?"

"N-no. I just need to take a walk real quick."

"Watch out for platypi," Gwen warned jokingly. Max laughed humorlessly and walked down the hill towards the lake. Nikki set down the stick she'd been roasting her marshmallows on and followed him.

"Max, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Are you upset that they're getting married?"

"Hell, no! I _told_ that idiot to propose over a _year_ ago! Why the fuck would I be upset that they're engaged?"

"I don't know. Maybe you don't believe in love or something? I don't, but around them… I'm not so sure."

"I get it. True love is bullshit and real love hardly exists."

Nikki stared down at her feet, then looked up at the sky.

"I didn't even realize it was a full moon tonight." He glanced upwards, too.

"Yeah. It's actually kind of… nice." He looked her straight in the face for the first time all day.

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

Her hair looked blue in the moonlight, the shadows falling over her face and illuminating her features in a way that set his heart racing again. She gave him that smile and he felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment.

 _Make a move._

He stepped towards her and grabbed her face in his hands. In one motion, his lips were on hers. A spark of electricity shot through them both and neither wanted to break away. Max wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as if he were afraid to let go. She reciprocated the action.

"WHOO! NICE ONE, KID!"

They broke apart at the sound of yelling from the lake. A bunch of drunk, college-age guys were sitting on a small sailboat and looking directly at them. Their leader, a blonde-haired fuckboy, was the one catcalling.

"HEY, BABY! YOU CAN DO BETTER!" he added, gesturing to Nikki. Max growled and stepped in front of Nikki, but she put an arm in front of his chest.

"I've got this," she whispered. She picked up a rock and took aim. It flew through the air, hitting the college asshole in the leg. He whined in pain as he fell to the deck.

"YOU BITCH!" one of his buddies screamed.

"HEY! SHE'S _MY_ BITCH!" Max called back. Nikki started laughing as the boat sailed away.

"That was _great_!" she choked out from the laughter.

"Sorry about calling you a bitch," Max chuckled.

"No, no! That was the best freaking part!"

"I preferred the part where you hit an asshole with a _fucking rock_! Nice aim, by the way."

"I was aiming for _below the belt_ , but the leg works, too." She shrugged, then tilted her head in curiosity.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"So, are we a thing now?"

"Y-you want to be my girlfriend?"

"If _you_ don't mind being my boyfriend."

"Hell fucking _no_ , I don't mind! I don't just kiss girls like that unless I'm interested!"

"Good to know." She smiled again. "Let's get back to David and Gwen, shall we?"

She took his hand and that same warm feeling spread through him, almost like a magnet attracting him to her. He didn't want to let go. He just wanted to keep holding her hand, for that one night to go on forever. Even when they got back and David and Gwen exchanged knowing glances, he didn't want it to end. That night, he was completely happy for the first time in years. That night, he let himself fall in love.

That night, he completely forgot about the job, the money, and Sasha.


	6. Christmas Guilt

"How was the camping trip?"

Nikki sat up and looked at Neil, who was standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

"It was _great_!" she gushed. "Mr. Greene and his girlfriend, Gwen, are engaged now! And get this: she's the _same Gwen_ who used to babysit us as kids!"

"Whoa! How the fuck did that happen?"

"Dunno, but he proposed _right_ in front of me and Max!"

"Sounds… fun."

"Oh, and I hit a drunk college guy on a boat with a rock."

"Why were you hanging out with drunk college guys?"

"I wasn't. He was doing that thing guys do where they try and get a girl's attention by being sleazy, so I threw a rock at him and hit him in the leg."

"Please tell me you weren't alone on the beach for that."

"Nope! Max was with me."

"And he _let_ you hit the guy with a rock."

"He thought it was funny."

"Jesus Christ." Neil couldn't help but smile, though. "I wish I could've gone with you guys."

"Uh, yeah! It was _too bad_ you couldn't come."

"Nikki, what happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Nikki."

"Seriously, _nothing happened_."

"Nikki, you tell me what happened or I text Max and ask _him_."

" _Fine_. Max kissed me." Neil's eyes widened and one twitched.

"He did _what_?"

"He. Kissed. Me. And I let him because he's a good kisser."

"You've never been kissed before! How the fuck do _you_ know he's a good kisser?"

"Because I wanted to kiss him again. And my leg did that thing girls' legs do in the movies when they kiss the guy."

"The stupid 'leg-pop' thing from _The Princess Diaries_?! Are you _shitting_ me?"

"Calm down, Neil. It's not like I agreed to _marry_ him. We've just been hanging out and stuff. And I guess we're official, now?"

" 'Official'?"

"Like, I'm his girlfriend now."

"Nikki, you've known him less than two months! That is _not_ the guy you start dating for your _first boyfriend_!"

"Dammit, Neil! Why are you being so _hostile_?! I thought you _liked_ Max!" Neil took a deep breath.

"Sorry. It's just… I keep thinking back to middle school. I don't wanna see you cry again." Nikki bit her lip, knowing _exactly_ what Neil was talking about. "I may just be your _step_ brother, but… to me, the 'brother' part is more important."

"Thanks, Neil. And… the 'sister' part is more important to me, too."

* * *

 _Hey!_

 _How was the seasonal Father-Son Camping Trip from Hell?_

Max felt his euphoric mood from the weekend evaporate as soon as he saw the message from Sasha. Shit, that was right. He wasn't supposed to fall for Nikki.

 _ **Shut up. It wasn't that bad.**_

 _Aw, did I wake up the baby from his nap?_

 _Focus, goddammit._

 _ **I am.**_

 _Why wasn't it bad? You hate going on those stupid trips._

 _ **Well, this time, I wasn't suffering alone.**_

 _ **Gwen went with us.**_

 _Ugh, that bitch._

 _ **Hey, that's my future stepmom.**_

 _WTF?!_

 _He put a ring on it?!_

 _ **Proposed to her right in front of us.**_

 _Wait, us?_

 _Who the hell else was there?!_

 _ **Nikki.**_

 _ **David let me invite someone to come along, and I picked her.**_

 _ **She hit a college dude in the leg with a rock after he hit on her.**_

 _Jesus fucking Christ, what a brat._

 _ **Nah, it was kind of impressive, actually.**_

 _ **Considering we were on the shore of the lake**_

 _ **And he was on a moving sailboat.**_

 _Did you find out anything from her?_

 _ **Um…**_

 _ **She thinks true love is bullshit and real love hardly exists.**_

 _ **But to be honest, I think that's true.**_

 _Ugh!_

 _What the fuck am I paying you for if you're not taking this seriously?!_

 _ **Excuse me, Your Royal Bitchiness.**_

 _ **It takes TIME to do this shit.**_

 _ **I can't just earn her complete trust in a couple months.**_

 _Well, fuck her, then!_

 _ **I'm not a slut like you.**_

 _ **I can't just fuck someone like that.**_

 _It's not like you're a virgin._

 _ **Fuck. Off.**_

 _Why are you so defensive of her?!_

 _ **She's a better kisser than you.**_

 _WTF YOU SON OF A BITCH! TAKE THAT BACK!_

Max chuckled as he ignored Sasha's messages. Let her be all pissy. Eventually, she got the hint and stopped texting… for now. He picked his phone back up as it beeped to see a message from Neil.

 _If you hurt Nikki, I know how to castrate you._

 _ **WTF, Neil?**_

 _Just a warning, dude._

 _It's like I told Nikki: I'm her stepbrother, but to me, brother is the important part._

 _I'm not going to watch her cry again._

 _ **Again? She doesn't strike me as the crying type.**_

 _She's only cried ONCE in the fourteen years we've known each other._

 _I'm not saying why._

 _It's up to her if and when she tells you that story._

 _ **Noted.**_

Max felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Someone had made Nikki cry, to the point where Neil was willing to become the stereotype of an older brother and threaten whoever could possibly hurt her that bad again. And Max was being _paid to do that_.

 _I could handle Nikki crying._

 _No, you couldn't. She's too happy—it would upset the balance of the universe._

 _There are a thousand bucks on the line, dude. You're gonna fucking throw that away over some relationship that doesn't even matter?_

 _No, she matters._

 _Just wait a few months, fucker. You'll be_ **desperate** _to spill her secrets to Sasha then._

* * *

December rolled around as the leaves on the trees turned brown and the trees themselves become barren. Usually, Max loved it because the world was becoming as dead as he was inside. He'd always preferred colder weather over hot weather because the world seemed so much more cozy when there was a blanket of snow on the ground rather than the baking heat of the sun on grass. He supposed it was largely to be contrary to David, who preferred perfect camping weather over all others, but he'd been that way for as long as he could remember.

"Max!"

He jumped a little at the sound of Nikki's voice. They'd agreed to meet outside Naomi's for some coffee and hot chocolate before going Christmas shopping together, so he'd been deep in his own thoughts.

"Hey, Nik," he greeted her. She giggled.

Now that the weather was colder, Max still wore his hoodie full-time—just with a parka over it and a pair of thick pants instead of jeans. He also wore a winter hat that David had made for their first Christmas after the adoption went through, and a scarf from about the same time. His snow-boots were already slick from snow, but he didn't mind. He was comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

Nikki, on the other hand, was wearing a yellow sweater under a red parka with red pants. She was wearing a pair of white earmuffs and a green scarf, too. She was comfortable, but Max thought she looked adorable. The cold biting at her cheeks made them rosy.

"I heard she's trying out new hot cocoa recipes this year," Nikki told Max as they entered the café/bakery. It was busy, due to the cold and Naomi having the best hot drinks in town. She always had more help around that time of year, though she never put up 'Help Wanted' signs…

"They might be worth skipping my coffee for." Max shrugged.

"Hey, Max!" Naomi greeted him when he and Nikki reached the counter. "Black coffee for you and hot cocoa for Nikki?"

"Actually, I'll take a peppermint hot chocolate. Nikki?"

"I'll have a raspberry hot cocoa, please!" Nikki requested.

"You got it!" She wrote down their order and handed it to a girl about their age with long, dark red hair that matched Naomi's own. "Get that for them, please, Charlie."

"Whatever," Charlie muttered, heading into the kitchen.

"Do you know who they are?" Nikki asked Max as they sat down at a table. 'They', of course, referring to Naomi's seasonal employees.

"Nope," he sighed. "They're here every year around Christmas, though, and they look like Naomi. My guess is that they're family."

"Here for the holidays and required to help out."

"Isn't that how it is in most households? I mean, Gwen's parents are butting in all the time and they're excited to have me as a grandson in a few months."

"What about David's parents?"

"They couldn't make it this year. Said something about work. Sucks. I like having them around during the holidays because David 'chills' the fuck out." Nikki snorted.

"One peppermint, one raspberry!" called a guy with glasses and the same dark red hair as Naomi and Charlie.

"That's us." Max and Nikki took their drinks and headed out the door.

As they exited, though, he ran into a couple of familiar faces.

Erin and Tabii.

"Hey, Max!" Erin greeted him with a smile.

"And is that _Nikki_?!" Tabii gasped.

"Hey," Max and Nikki greeted them in unison, both sounding unenthusiastic.

"Aw! You two make _such_ a cute couple!" Erin complimented.

"Thanks, but we've gotta go," Max told her. "Bye."

"Bye!"

Max and Nikki headed down the street, Max feeling a little rattled by the appearance of two of his old 'buddies' from Sleepy Peak. Sasha _must_ have told them about the deal, right?

"You don't like Tabii and Erin either?" Nikki asked.

"Not really. They're a little bitchy, if you ask me. You got a problem with them?"

"They're friends with Sasha, who hates me because of something that happened in middle school."

"What happened?"

"I… I don't think you need to know yet. Just know that Tabii and Erin were involved." Her eyes lit up as they caught sight of the Christmas tree in the center of town. "Oh my gosh! I didn't know it was up already!"

"Yeah, of course it is." She pulled him along and stared at the lights as they went by. "You… really like Christmas, don't you?"

"It's my favorite time of year. I love everything about it—the lights, the presents, the food, spending time with family…"

"And me?" He smirked at her.

"And _you_ , of course." She elbowed him gently. "So, any idea what you're getting David and Gwen?"

"Yeah. I'm getting David a bird-watchers' guide and I'm getting Gwen the latest 'supernatural romance' novel. It's her fucking favorite genre."

"I'm getting Neil new test tubes and some gift cards for Mom and Carl." Suddenly, Max realized that it wasn't just family he had to get gifts for this year—it was Nikki, too.

"Any ideas on what you want?" he asked.

"Anything outdoorsy would be nice. A wolf cub is the ideal gift, but it's impractical. I don't have time to train it."

 _It's cute how you think_ **that's** _why it's impractical._

"You?"

"Not really. There isn't much I actually _want_ nowadays." They stopped in front of the bookstore and Nikki looked up with a giggle.

"Mistletoe," she told Max. He looked up to see the decorative plant and smirked.

"C'mere, you." He brought her into a quick kiss before they went inside.

* * *

 _ **Saw Tabii and Erin today.**_

 _ **Your spies?**_

 _Puh-lease. I dumped those two at the beginning of the year._

 _They're such LOSERS._

 _ **Jesus Christ, you're a fucking bitch.**_

 _ **Wait, they didn't know about the job, did they?**_

 _Nope._

 _I haven't told anybody except Eddie._

 _ **Pikeman?**_

 _ **Fuck.**_

 _ **How'd he take it?**_

 _He said it was a brilliant revenge scheme._

 _ **Yeah, brilliant.**_

 _ **How long have you been 'friends' with Tabii and Erin?**_

 _Since middle school, after the Nikki thing. They backed me up._

 _ **Okay, then…**_

 _ **Bye.**_

 _Have you found out anything else?_

 _ **For fuck's sake, Sasha.**_

 _ **NO.**_

 _ **Now leave me alone.**_

 _You aren't backing out, are you?_

 _ **Maybe I am.**_

 _Because if you DO, I'll tell Nikki everything._

 _I'll tell her that you agreed to the job and accepted the payment._

 _And, on top of that, I'll tell the school board about your little 'business'._

 _I wonder how they'll treat David when they find out his son sells homework and test papers…_

 _ **Sasha…**_

 _Don't test me, Max._

 _Unless you want your world to come crumbling down, you'll finish the job._

 _ **…fine.**_

 _ **I'll… try.**_

 _Good boy._

Max set the phone aside and buried his face in his hands as he fell back on his pillow. He was in deep shit now. He had to do what Sasha said. He'd lose Nikki either way, but at least if he did what the bitch wanted, David would keep his job.

 _Nikki…_

 _You're only going to get hurt in the end, motherfucker. Find out what you need to know and finish this so you're out from under her._

 _I can't… I can't hurt Nikki…_

 _There's no way out of this where Nikki doesn't get hurt. There's no way out where_ **you** _don't get hurt. Do what Sasha says and cut the cord as soon as you're done._

Max felt a pain in his chest at the thought of losing Nikki. It worsened at the thought of David losing his job because of him.

He really _was_ between a rock and a hard place, wasn't he?


	7. Warnings and Staying Out All Night

"Max Greene."

Max looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice to see a girl he didn't know. Her long, dark brown hair combined with her Hispanic heritage were somewhere in his memory, though…

"Uh, do I know you?" he asked.

"You don't, which is a good _or_ bad thing depending on how you look at it. I'm Rosemary."

"So _you're_ the alpha bitch of Campbell High?"

"Yep." He raised an eyebrow.

"How'd I get on your radar, then?"

"Simple. You're dating Nikki, who is a person I _happen_ to like."

"Look, I'm sorry if you have a crush on her."

"I don't. She's a friend of mine who I care about, and I protect my friends."

"What does that have to do with me? I would never hurt Nikki."

 _Liar._

"Just know this, Max. I have eyes and ears _everywhere_ , even in places you wouldn't expect."

She walked away and Nikki slid into her seat at the lunch table. Max had beaten her there, hence why Rosemary was able to give him the warning.

"I can't believe it's already January!" she told him. "Where'd the time go?!"

" 'Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind'," Neil stated, putting down his lunch. "Nathaniel Hawthorne."

"Really? You couldn't _just_ be a science nerd?" Max groaned.

"Yeah, even I want to give you a wedgie right now," Nikki added.

"Aw, shut up." He pointed his fork threateningly. "Just because you're a couple you're ganging up on me."

"Speaking of couples…" Max dug into his backpack and pulled out some envelopes. "You guys are invited to Gwen and David's wedding in March."

"We are?" Nerris inquired as she and Harrison sat across from the trio.

"David said to invite my friends. You guys are my friends."

"Aw…" Nikki kissed him on the cheek and he blushed.

"You guys are a good couple," Harrison complimented. "So, when exactly _is_ the wedding?"

"It's the weekend before Spring Break. That Saturday. It starts at two. They're having it up by the lake, on Plum island. There'll be boats until one-forty-five, so don't be late. Nikki, I'm _assuming_ you'll be my date?"

"Of _course_! Do I have to wear a dress?"

"Nope. David said you just have to dress formally. He said _nothing_ about dresses."

"Good!"

"Wait, we have to bring _dates_?" Neil asked, looking a little panicked.

"Well, you don't _have_ to, but these things usually are less boring with dates."

"In that case, Harrison, be my date?" Nerris said to the aspiring illusionist.

"Sure." He shrugged.

"Dammit!" Neil banged his head on the table.

"It's okay, Neil!" Nikki told him. "I'm sure there'll be _somebody_ there who wants to dance with you."

"And again, _dammit_!"

"Try asking Rosemary. I'm sure she'd go with you."

"Yeah, right. She's got a boyfriend, Nikki."

"She does?"

"According to Preston, she does. And he and Nurf know _everything_."

 _I have eyes and ears everywhere, even in places you wouldn't expect._

Rosemary's words echoed in Max's head. She really liked being in the know, didn't she?

* * *

 _How's the 'loving boyfriend' treating his 'girlfriend' for Valentine's Day?_

 _ **Watch the quotes.**_

 _Wait, why?_

 _Ooh, did you…?_

 _OMIGOD, YOU FELL FOR HER._

 _ **Yeah, I did.**_

 _ **And I'm only doing your stupid job because of David.**_

 _Way to make me sound like the bad guy._

 _ **YOU ARE THE BAD GUY, SASHA. YOU'RE BLACKMAILING ME TO BREAK MY GIRLFRIEND'S HEART.**_

 _Oh, wah._

 _ **You are such a fucking bitch.**_

 _ **Why the hell did I ever hang out with you?**_

 _Because otherwise you were a nameless loser._

 _You needed my connections._

 _ **I hope you know that once this is done, we're done.**_

 _ **I'm never doing another job for you.**_

 _That's fine._

 _Enjoy Valentine's Day with your slutty bitch!_

Max wanted to reach through the phone and strangle Sasha. If it were possible, he would have.

Every time she texted him, it was about Nikki and the fucking plan. She was _obsessed_ with bringing Nikki down. Max understood wanting revenge on someone who wronged you, but she was starting to take it too far. He decided to block it out in favor of figuring out what he was going to do for Nikki.

"Max!"

He looked up to see David in a suit and holding up two ties—one green with a pine tree on it and the other red.

"Which one? I'm taking Gwen out tonight to a fancy restaurant and I don't want to look stupid."

"Red. It's plain and simple. Like you."

"R-really?"

"Gwen didn't fall for you because of your fashion sense, idiot. If she had, she knows _less_ about it than you."

"Thanks." David smiled. "We'll be back tomorrow morning. Have a good Valentine's Day!"

He tied the tie around his neck effortlessly and walked down the hall. Max thought it over for a second, then remembered something.

Despite David's love of camping, he owned a cabin inherited from his grandfather up by the lake. He never really used it, but Max knew for a fact the place was well-maintained. And that it was actually closer to town than the campsite—about thirty minutes away. He had the car David and Gwen had gotten him for Christmas. And he and Nikki didn't really have plans…

 _ **How would you feel about hitting up Naomi's for some pastries, grabbing some pizza, and heading up to David's cabin with me?**_

 _Depends._

 _Will they be strawberry pastries?_

 _ **Your pick.**_

 _Then HELL YES._

 _ **Great. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes. Bring a change of clothes because we're spending the night.**_

 _See you!_

* * *

"I didn't know David had a cabin."

"Most people don't. He used to live in it, back before he got a job as a teacher and adopted me." Max took a deep breath. "But now, he doesn't use it much. He prefers camping in a tent, so I'm the only one who comes up here."

"Why do _you_ come up here?"

"When I need to be alone. Up here, it's just me. Nobody bothers me."

"That's… really poetic, Max."

He put the car in park as soon as they reached the cabin and Nikki slid out with her bag. She went up to the porch, her boot-covered feet crunching through the February snow. Max joined her and unlocked the door to reveal a cozy-looking place—large fireplace, a small kitchen, a couch and some armchairs… and a bedroom off to the side. Nikki smiled and set her bag down so she could take off her parka and boots.

"It's so nice! And he really used to live here?"

"Yep. Now it's basically my place to get away from idiots and assholes." He took off his coat and hung it by the door before heading over to the stack of wood by the fireplace. "It's fucking freezing. Get some of the newspaper out of my bag, will ya?"

She did as he asked and soon there was a fire roaring. They sat down on the couch, where Max opened the box of pizza for them. For a few minutes, they sat eating pizza and pastries, telling jokes and laughing. Then, Nikki noticed there was a picture of David and Max on the end table. Max only looked to be about ten in the picture and very grumpy. His mint-green eyes were the same bright shade they were now and his black hair just as fluffy.

"You were a cute kid," she complimented. He followed her gaze and smirked.

"I was a _demon_ of a kid. I'm lucky David decided to put up with me. Don't tell him I said that."

"What do you mean, 'demon'?" He sighed.

"My birth parents were some of the shittiest people I've ever met. They didn't really care about me, so I assumed nobody would. A social worker said that they were unfit parents and took me away when I was eight. For two years, I bounced around the foster system until I ended up with David. He had enough patience to figure me out and deal with me, and… he adopted me. That picture was taken the day it was finalized and I was choosing to be a little shit about it."

"Wow. I just drove my parents crazy because I refused to act girly. The only way my mom could get me in a dress was if it was a formal occasion or for a beauty pageant."

"Wait, _you_ were a pageant girl?"

"Yeah. I hated it, so I asked her to let me stop. She didn't, until this year. My dad never stopped her because he hoped she wouldn't leave him if he did whatever she said. It obviously didn't work, but he's still trying. And people wonder why I don't believe in love…"

"I don't either, to be honest. It's like you said back at the lake during our camping trip—Gwen and David are the closest I've ever seen, and I doubted I'd have that chance." She stared. "What?"

"You said doubt _ed_ , as in past tense. You think you have a chance now?"

"Fuck. Yeah, I think I do." He was blushing intensely. "I… I love you, Nikki."

Nikki's eyes lit up as he looked down at the floor. She leaned over and grabbed his face, kissing him intently. Though shocked at first, he quickly returned the action with as much vigor. They broke apart, gasping for air.

"I love you, too," she said, smiling.

"Shut the fuck up." He started kissing her again. She gladly accepted, her hands finding their way to the hem of his shirt and traveling up his torso. He shuddered at her touch but then commenced to do the same to her.

"God, don't stop," she moaned. He stopped and let her go. "Why'd you stop?"

"I figured that if this was going any farther, we should move… elsewhere. Unless you're worried about your mom's rules."

"Hm…" She tapped her chin. "We're both legal, there aren't any cops, and…" She bent closer to his ear. "…I'm on the pill."

"Fuck yeah." He smirked and pulled her into the bedroom.

* * *

Nikki opened her eyes. She felt… warm. And somebody was cuddling her from behind. She glanced down at her body to see that she was naked, with Max's sun-shade arms wrapped around her protectively.

 _It wasn't a dream._

She managed to roll over so they were face-to-face and tapped his nose.

" _Boop_ ," she whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled before pulling her even closer.

"That was amazing. You're amazing." They sat there for a few minutes, cuddling, before something occurred to her.

"Max, what time is it?" He sighed and let go of her before grabbing his phone.

"It's… nine AM." They both looked at each other and quickly ran for their clothes. After packing up their stuff (and putting their trash away), Max started the car and they headed back for town. Nikki took a deep breath as Max pulled up to her house.

"Thanks," she told him. He gave her a quick kiss before she got out.

"Hey, anytime you want."

"Heh. Yeah. I'll see you later?"

"See ya. Thank God it's the weekend, right?"

"Yep." She smiled nervously and waved as she headed into the house. The door closed behind her and she fell against it, breathless and happy.

"And just _where_ have _you_ been, young lady?"

Nikki looked up to see Neil, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

"I, uh…"

"You were out _all night_ , and you didn't think to call?! I was worried _sick_!"

"Sorry, Neil. I lost track of time." She took off her coat and hung it on the coatrack before doing the same to her scarf. "We ate pizza and watched movies until we fell asleep."

Neil narrowed his eyes, not believing a word of it.

"Well, you're lucky Dad and Candy aren't home, because otherwise…" His voice trailed off. "Okay, fine, the worst you'll get is from me. But still! Don't fucking do that! Who _knows_ what could've happened?!"

"I was fine. I was with Max all night."

" _All_ night?"

"Are you accusing me of cheating on him?"

"No, I think you guys went a _little bit further_ than you're saying."

"That's _ridiculous_. I'm going to my room to sleep and think about how happy I am with Max." She went upstairs.

"You're grounded!"

"You can't do that, nerd!"

Nikki slammed her door shut and climbed onto her bed.

 _I slept with Max last night. It was so great! I want to do it again. Is that okay, or do I sound like a slut? Oh, whatever!_

True to her word, Nikki fell asleep a few minutes later.


	8. The Breakup

"You look so beautiful."

Nikki fidgeted uncomfortably as her mother did her hair.

David and Gwen's wedding day had arrived, but the way Candy was going about it, you'd think _Nikki_ was the bride. From the moment her mother had seen the invitation, she'd been adamant that Nikki look her best for the event. That meant dressing up in a dress, having her hair curled, and wearing makeup. Thankfully, Candy had let Nikki pick her dress and not gone too heavy on the makeup, which was the one saving grace of it all.

"I _guarantee_ Max won't know what to do with himself when he sees ya, Nicolette. You'll be the prettiest girl there."

"Max already _thinks_ I'm pretty," Nikki told her mother. "He said he wouldn't mind if I showed up in pants and a nice shirt."

"It's a _weddin'_ , sweetheart. Lookin' nice for it is important. After all, one day it'll be _you_ walkin' down the aisle."

"Not for a while, though."

"Not for a while. I want you to finish high school first."

"Noted." She checked her phone. "Oh! Max'll be here in ten minutes! Are we done?"

"Yep!" Candy unplugged the curling iron and Nikki looked at herself in the mirror.

She _did_ look prettier than usual. Her hair had been curled in a way that framed her face, with sparse makeup to 'accent her features', as Candy had put it. Her dress was a rosy-pink color, just barely reaching her knees, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a black sash across her middle. The shoes were a pair of black flats, which were what Nikki preferred to heels, anyway.

"Neil!" Candy called to her stepson.

"I'm coming!" Neil dashed into the bathroom, his tie undone. "This stupid tie isn't cooperating!"

"Let me see it." Candy quickly tied it perfectly. "There. Now, remember, keep an eye on your sister and don't drink any alcohol. You never know who's gonna be at these kinda things."

The doorbell rang and Nikki ran downstairs as Carl let Max into the house. He looked good in a tux, and his hair had been left alone (she suspected he'd had to fight Gwen on that point). She smiled and gave him a hug.

"You look great," she complimented. He stared at her.

"And… y-you look amazing!"

"Aw. Thank you."

"I want pictures!" Candy announced, coming down the stairs with her phone and a digital camera.

"Mom, we have to go," Nikki insisted.

"Nikki, you never go to dances. Let me have this mom moment, please."

"Okay, fine."

Candy took pictures of Nikki and Max, then Nikki and Neil. She then took pictures of each of them individually and one of all three of them together.

"I'll have them home by ten," Max promised Carl.

"Thanks, Max. You're a good kid."

"Let's go, guys."

Nikki called shotgun and took the front seat, forcing Neil to sit in the back.

"Watch the hands," Neil warned.

"Noted," Max sighed. "Buckle up. It's a forty-five-minute drive to the dock."

Nikki turned on the radio to a classic rock station as Max entered traffic. Neil, on the other hand, took out a book he'd brought for the drive and started reading.

"So, anybody from Sleepy Peak going to be there?" Nikki asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah, a couple people. Mostly David's favorite students and his former coworkers."

"Anybody _we_ know?"

"Erin and Tabii." Neil dropped his book and went for the door. "Neil, sit down."

"I'm _not_ going to the wedding if _Tabii_ is going to be there!" he yelped. "She's _obsessed_ with me!"

"What about Sasha?" Nikki's voice was quiet.

"No. I told David not to invite her, but Tabii and Erin are cool. We were friends." Max gave her a worried look. "You wanna tell me what your problem is with Sasha?" Nikki bit her lip.

"Nikki, you don't have to tell him," Neil told his sister.

"I think I should." She took a deep breath and sighed. "When we were in sixth grade, I joined a Girl Scout troop. The other members called themselves the Flower Scouts and they were obsessed with being 'proper ladies'. None of them liked me because I didn't want to be a 'proper lady'. I wanted to go outside, play in the dirt, have fun being a kid. One of the leaders heard that I wanted to go camping from my mom and set up a trip to the lake. Needless to say, the other girls weren't happy, but I didn't care. I was happy to be out in nature and I considered those girls my friends.

"Then… then on the second night of the trip, Sasha cut off one of my pigtails and convinced Erin and Tabii to help her carry me into the woods while I was sleeping. They left me there with a note that said, 'this is why we're not your friends. You're a nature freak. Have fun being a loser in nature.' I managed to find one of the leaders, who wasn't happy with the whole thing and disbanded the troop once we got home."

"And that's the only time I've ever seen you cry in the fourteen years we've known each other," Neil added.

Max felt anger boiling in his gut.

 _Sasha. Fucking. Lied._

 _She did that shit to_ **Nikki**.

 _That's it._

"Well, you never have to see her again," Max told his girlfriend, hiding his rage. "So that's the good thing. I hated her."

"Thanks, Max. You don't think I overreacted?"

"You got stabbed in the back by people you _trusted_. If anything, you _under_ reacted." Nikki giggled.

* * *

The wedding was on Plum Island, like Max had stated before Valentine's Day, and an arch had been set up. Chairs lined a makeshift aisle, leading to where David was anxiously waiting. Max led Nikki and Neil over to a row, where Nerris and Harrison were already sitting with Tabii and Erin.

"Hey, Neil!" Tabii greeted him.

"Hey… Tabii," he replied nervously.

"Don't be so uptight! Sit down!"

"We've been waiting for this wedding for three years," Erin added. Max glanced around and noticed Edward Pikeman—Sasha's latest boy-toy—sitting with Snake and Petrol, two of his buddies.

 _Sasha._

 _I'm texting her at the reception._

The other guests arrived, including Principal Cameron Campbell, Rosemary, and Joseph. The three of them sat down near the back, with Rosemary reading the program while her brother slumped down in his chair. Campbell was looking around nervously with Rosemary occasionally patting his arm to calm him down.

Then, at two o'clock on the dot, the music started and Gwen started walking down the aisle towards David. She wore a knee-length dress, one that would've been seen as scandalous if this had been a church wedding.

Thankfully, the Greene family was made of staunch agnostics.

The officiator started reading the same boring speech about marriage that everyone had heard a billion times before. Max's mind started to wander before David opened his mouth to speak.

"Gwen, the past three years have been the happiest of my life. I've been working the job of my dreams in the town I grew up in, and dating the most amazing woman I've ever met. You've been a source of strength for me on days when I've needed it, and you've been a _fantastic_ mother to Max. I love you, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you as my wife."

"David, I never saw myself as the type to fall in love with anyone. It's always been me, on my own, but then I met you. And suddenly, I wasn't alone. I had somebody who would always have my back and make my worst days better. I had somebody to brighten my life and make the clouds go away. And today, I'm not just gaining a husband. I'm getting my partner and the love of my life. And… getting a son isn't that bad, either. I love you and I can't wait for the rest of our lives to start."

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the officiator declared. "You may kiss the bride."

Everyone began clapping and cheering as David and Gwen kissed. Nikki leaned over and gave Max a gentle kiss on the lips, which he eagerly returned. The guests were then led to the reception area, where Naomi and her family were waiting. Well, at least, Naomi, Charlie, and the guy with the glasses were.

"Congrats on the new mom, kiddo," Naomi told Max.

"Thanks," he replied. "So, you're catering now, too?"

"Yep. Charlie's manning the food while Tristan's handling the bar. I made the cake."

"Well, at least we know it'll be good!" Nikki piped up.

"Thanks. Speaking of cake, I have to go grab the plates and stuff from the van. I'll see you guys later!" She walked off.

"Hey, Nikki, I have to go take care of something real quick," Max told her. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Okay! I'll save you a dance."

He smiled and headed off, away from everyone else and _well_ out of earshot. He pulled out his phone and hit Sasha's name on his contact list.

 _"Hello?"_ she answered. _"What do you got for me?"_

"I've got jack _shit_ , and you know why?"

 _"Because you're useless."_

"Because you _lied_."

 _"What the fuck did I lie about?_ "

"The reason you want to take Nikki down. I _knew_ it was fucking fishy, and I was right! You twisted the story so that _you_ were the victim over her!"

 _"Whatever."_

"No. I'm _done_. The deal's off. And don't worry about turning me in to the school board. I'm doing it myself."

He hung up on her. His chest suddenly felt lighter, as if his problems were disappearing.

"Turning yourself in?"

Max yelped and turned to see Rosemary, leaning against a tree.

"Rosemary! I-it's not what it looks like."

"It _sounds_ like you just called off a deal with somebody. Somebody I know _very well_." She had her hands on her hips.

"What are you going to do?"

"Me? Nothing. Your days with Nikki are _numbered_ in the single digits now, no matter what you do or what you say. Remember what I told you a couple months ago?"

 _I have eyes and ears everywhere, even where you'd least expect._

"Y-you knew the whole time?"

"Of course I did. _Nothing_ goes down at Campbell High without me knowing about it."

"So why didn't you say anything or try to stop it?"

"I was curious as to what kind of guy you were—whether you'd go through with it or figure out that Sasha is a lying, manipulative whore."

"I did. Now I'm losing Nikki. At least I have tonight."

"Sasha doesn't know Nikki's number, so I'd say that's right." She flipped her hair as she turned around. "Enjoy your relationship while it lasts."

Max headed back to the reception area, where Nikki swiftly pulled him onto the dance floor. He tried his best to enjoy himself while he still had her…

* * *

 _An email?_

Nikki stared at her computer screen. It was from somebody named _gardengirl138_. She didn't recognize the address, but the subject was _Important: About Max_. Out of pure curiosity, she clicked it.

 _Hey, Nikki._

 _You're probably wondering why I sent you an email, and it's a good reason. Max has been lying to you for the entirety of your relationship with him. The truth is, he's only with you because I paid him to be. In September, he accepted five hundred dollars as payment for the job. I felt bad for your pathetic love life, so I did that. Then he told me that he was going to break up with you before Spring Break to get back with me._

 _I was his first kiss, and his first time in bed. I'm sorry that he didn't think you were good enough for him. But, that's life, I guess. It's a good thing that I knew and had the heart to tell you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Sasha._

 _P. S.: Here are some screenshots and pictures if you don't believe me._

Nikki felt her heart pounding as she clicked on the files attached. There were pictures of Sasha and Max together, selfies that seemed very intimate. The screenshots were of text conversations between Sasha and Max, all of which were either flirty or discussing _her_. Including ones where Max told Sasha secrets that Nikki had told him, ones that she'd trusted him to keep for her.

 _He… lied._

 _I love you, Nikki._

 _He fucking lied to me._

 _Hell fucking no, I don't mind! I don't just kiss girls like that unless I'm interested!_

 _He was only with me because Sasha paid him five hundred bucks._

 _That was amazing. You're amazing._

 _He… he slept with her, first._

 _I figured that if this was going any farther, we should move… elsewhere._

 _I gave him everything. And he was going to throw me away for_ **her** _._

Nikki pulled out her phone, thankful that Neil was over at Nerris's for D and D night and Candy was out with Carl. She stared at Max's picture that was her phone background, tears forming in her eyes as she unlocked the phone and hit Max's name on her contact list.

 _"Hey, Nikki,_ " he said upon answering.

"Shut the fuck up." Her voice was brimming with anger.

 _"So, you found out, huh?"_

"Yep. And you know what, Max? I'm not _giving_ you the chance to hurt me. We're _done._ I know _everything_ , and I never want to see you again!"

 _"I figured. Bye, Nikki."_

"Bye, _asshole_."


	9. Knockout

And that brings us back to that fateful afternoon, my friends.

Max hit the ground and stared up at his now ex-girlfriend. She had tears in her eyes and her fist was still raised. A crowd was gathering around them, trying to figure out what was going on. They all knew that Max and Nikki had broken up, but they didn't know why.

"I've been carrying that around since the weekend," she told him. "See you _never_."

She walked away, leaving Max with a black eye forming on the left side of his face. He didn't even react. He just stood up and walked towards his car.

"Max!"

He turned to see Neil.

"What the fuck did you do to Nikki?" the nerd asked.

"Something I can never take back and that I wish I could." He gave Neil a small, sad smile. "Tell Nikki that I didn't lie about how I feel, and that I still love her. I doubt she'd listen to me."

He got into his car and drove for home. Neil, on the other hand, ran after his sister and caught up with her quickly.

"Nikki—"

"I don't want to talk about this, Neil."

"You just _punched him_! Out of _nowhere_!"

"Yes, I was there. And it _wasn't_ out of nowhere."

"I know you guys broke up, but what exactly did he _do_?"

"He was _paid_ to date me and break my heart, Neil!" Neil stopped and stared at her. "Sasha paid him _five hundred dollars_ to break my heart, and guess what? It _worked_!" Tears poured down her face as she fell against Neil and cried into his shirt.

"He said that he wished he could take it all back," Neil told her gently. "And that he didn't lie about how he felt."

"He's a _liar_ , Neil! I'm not going to listen to _anything_ that bastard told you to tell me!" She stomped away, towards her and Neil's car. He caught up with her again and they headed home.

As soon as they were there, Nikki went to her room and buried her face in her pillow.

 _He didn't lie about how he felt._

 _He said that he wished he could take it all back._

 _Yeah, right. He just wanted more money._

"Sweetheart?"

Nikki looked up to see her mother in the doorway, holding a cup of hot cocoa.

"What, Mom?"

"Neil told me what happened. Max was such an asshole to you, and you didn't deserve it." She handed the cup to her daughter. "You deserve a man who will help you up. A knight in shinin' armor for my little princess… or, maybe a thief to help my little warrior. Whichever you prefer."

"Thanks, Mom."

"And, if you want, you can stay home for Spring Break instead of comin' with us to the mountains. You seem like you need to be alone right now."

"I do." Nikki gave her a smile.

"We're leaving in the morning and there won't be cell phone coverage up there, so you won't be able to get in contact with us while we're gone. If you need _anythin'_ , just call one of your friends."

"Okay. Love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

* * *

"Max?"

David poked his head into his son's room worriedly. He'd just gotten a letter from the school board regarding Max's disciplinary hearing, and Max was packing his duffle bag with enough clothes for Spring Break. He also had a black eye.

"Hey, David," he sighed, sitting down on his bed. David sat down to his right and put an arm around him.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

"I fucked up _big-time_." Gwen entered the room cautiously and sat down to Max's left.

"How'd you fuck up?" she asked.

"It's a long story, but… the gist of it is that I fucked up my relationship with Nikki, and now she hates me. She's the one who gave me this." He pointed to his black eye. "I deserved it. Now she's never going to speak to me again, and the school board is going to expel me."

"You turned yourself in," Gwen pointed out. "That's _gotta_ count for _something_."

"Not much."

"So, why are you packing your bag?" David inquired.

"I'm going up to the cabin for Spring Break to clear my head. Maybe stop hating myself long enough to figure out how to apologize to Nikki before I'm shipped off to jail." He sighed and slid off the bed. "I'll see you guys next Sunday. It'll be our last day as a family, before everything goes to shit."

"Be careful," Gwen warned.

"And we love you, Max," David added. Max picked up his bag and faced his adoptive parents.

"I love you too, Mom and Dad."

David's eyes filled with tears as Max walked out of the room and down to his car. Once he was on the road towards the cabin and away from everyone who knew him, he let his thoughts consume his head.

 _You deserved that. You accepted the request in the first fucking place, and now Nikki hates you._

 _I don't care. That's why I turned myself in. I don't care what happens to me. It'll probably make her happy to see me carted off like this…_

 _She's still got a hold on you._

 _Because I fucking love her. I love her more than anything else in this world and she deserves to be happy. Even if it's not with me. I'd take a million punches from her if it meant I could see her smile again._

 _Sasha needs to pay._

 _That's not going to do shit. It'll only be more against me and I'll be gone longer._

 _Gwen and David will probably be happy. They can have a biological child together and not have to worry about the shitty adopted one._

 _Yeah… better that I stay away for now… better for everyone._

 _You're a piece of shit._

 _I know I am. I'm an asshole, a douchebag, a bastard, a piece of shit, and any other insult I can't think of right now. Nikki deserves better._

* * *

Nikki felt her phone buzzing against her arm as she laid on the couch, watching a movie. She picked it up and realized Tabii was calling.

"Hey, Tabii," she sighed.

 _"Hey. I heard about what happened with Max."_

"Neil told you?"

 _"Yep. I can't believe Sasha pulled that shit on you."_

"You used to help her."

 _"And I don't. Erin and I don't anymore because we realized that her bitchiness is too much for us. That's why we dumped her as a friend at the beginning of the year."_

"Wow. Really?"

 _"Yeah. Anyway, you're probably feeling really shitty right now, so I wanted to invite you to a party up at Lake Lilac on Friday. Petrol, Pikeman, and Snake are throwing it and it's going to be_ **great** _! Just what you need to forget about you-know-who. Maybe find some other guy to hook up with?"_

"Thanks, I guess. Maybe I _do_ need to get out there."

 _"We'll pick you up Friday at six. See you then!"_

"See ya." Nikki set down her phone and sighed.

Earlier during Spring Break, Nerris and Harrison had attempted to talk to Max about what had happened by visiting his house. David and Gwen had informed them that Max was up at the cabin and wouldn't be back until Sunday. According to Harrison, David had been on the brink of tears the entire time, while Gwen was pissed off.

 _They know what he did. Good._

There was a _small_ part of Nikki that wanted to go up to the cabin and apologize to Max, but she squished that part _far_ down in her mind. He didn't _deserve_ an apology. If anything, _he_ should apologize to _her_.

That was how it worked, right?

* * *

"This is a great party, yeah?!"

Nikki could barely hear Erin over the music thumping in the background. She felt uncomfortable as college guys roamed the crowd, drunkenly hitting on any girl they saw as remotely attractive. Not for the first time that night, she wished Max was there. He would've taken her into a corner and started kissing her until she felt like she couldn't breathe. Then, they'd stand in that corner together and make fun of the people who were being idiots.

 _No! Don't think about Max! He's dead to you!_

"Are you okay?" Erin asked Nikki, pulling her out of the crowd so they could talk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… keep thinking about Max. He always knew how to spend parties like this." Her stomach twisted.

"Well, he's an asshole and not worth the neurons you're wasting on him."

"Erin, can I ask you something? Did Max and Sasha… ever go out?" Erin shook her head.

"They kissed once our freshman year during a game of 'Spin the Bottle', and then they slept together once our sophomore year. But Sasha told us it was just because they both wanted to lose their virginity. It never happened again."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Max _hates_ her now."

"Well, I'm sure they'd be happy together." Nikki crossed her arms and leaned against a tree. She glanced up and realized there was a full moon out.

Just like the night Max had kissed her for the first time.

"I… I need to get a drink." Nikki wove through the crowd and over to the refreshment table, where she poured herself a glass of punch.

 _He didn't lie about how he felt._

 _He wishes he could take it all back._

Neil's words echoed in her head. Had… had Max actually loved her, somewhere deep down under his greed? Maybe… and then again, maybe not.

Without warning, a cup of punch spilled all over the minidress Tabii had lent her.

It was Sasha.

"Omigod, Nikki! I'm _so sorry_!" she squealed.

"I-it's fine. I'm going to go change before it gets sticky."

She ran for one of the small tents that the hosts had set up for people to make out in and took off the dress. She'd learned the hard way to carry extra clothes at parties, in case your first set got ruined.

Wait.

Where was her bag? It had been on her shoulder a minute earlier…

" _Now._ "

A voice outside the tent.

Suddenly, the tent was flipped over, leaving Nikki exposed in nothing but her bra and panties. She tried to cover herself and reached for the stained dress, but Sasha was holding it in her hands. And Nikki's bag was on her shoulder.

"Such a shame Max can't do a simple job, isn't it?" she purred as the Sleepy Peak High crowd laughed at her. "Never send an errand boy to do a queen's job."

Nikki felt tears pricking in her eyes again. She scrunched down into a ball, hoping to expose as little as possible. The laughter began to subside as people began whispering instead. Then, a blue hoodie came down over her head. Startled, she looked up to see Max. He had an unreadable expression as she stared at him.

"Put it on," he told her. Sniffling, she obeyed and he picked her up, bridal-style.

"Hey!" Sasha yelled.

"Fuck off, Sasha," he stated in a voice that sent shivers down Nikki's spine.

The crowd parted and allowed Max a path through. He carried Nikki all the way to his car, which was idling by a clump of trees. Gently, he put her in the passenger's seat and closed the door. She caught sight of Sasha making her way over.

"What the _fuck_ , Max?!" she screeched. "She fucking _punched_ you, dumped your sorry ass, and you broke her heart! Why would you help her?!"

"Because even if I hurt her, I still care about her. I love her more than anything else. You just want me to flick the match so you can watch the world burn." Sasha stared at him, open-mouthed and shocked into silence. "Now leave her alone." He snatched the stained dress and the bag from the queen bee and put them in the backseat before getting in and driving away.


	10. Heart To Heart

There was silence as Max drove away from the party. Nikki felt embarrassed, relieved, angry, happy, hurt, and confused, all at once. How did he know she was in trouble? Had he been at the party the whole time and only known she was there when the tent went down? She glanced up at him and still couldn't read his expression. Was he angry at her? No, he wasn't. He was angry at Sasha. He'd saved her, but she wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

"I'm sorry."

She stared at him after the words came out of his mouth.

"I am _so, so, so sorry_ , Nikki. I can't even _begin_ to apologize for what I did to you. I'll take you home and let Neil know what happened, then I'm going to go slap a bitch."

"You can't. Nobody's at my house."

"You're home alone?"

"Mom, Carl, and Neil went to the mountains. Mom said she thought I needed time alone after… after what happened." Max took a deep breath and made a U-turn.

"Fuck that plan, then. I'm not leaving you by yourself after what happened tonight."

"Where are we going, then?"

"The cabin. You can spend the night there and I'll take you home in the morning."

"I-I'm not sure that's a good idea…"

"I won't touch you. You get the bedroom and I'll sleep on the couch. You don't even have to talk to me. There's obviously nothing you have to say…" His voice trailed off and she shakily touched his hand.

"We _need_ to talk, Max. I want to hear your side of this before we write everything off."

His breathing hitched at her touch, but he said nothing until they arrived at their destination. Nikki got out and looked at the cabin. It looked less cozy in the spring. Not to mention the bag of trash sitting on the porch.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since after you punched me. Went home, packed a bag, and came up here to clear my head."

She had no response to that, so she simply looked down at the hoodie she was wearing. Max's hoodie. It was warm and soft, with his scent clinging to it. Like an old friend. She felt… safe. Quietly, she followed him into the cabin and saw that he _had_ been up there for a week. His clothes were put in a bag by the door and the kitchen sink was full of dirty coffee mugs. Glancing at him, she realized he had bags under his eyes.

"Have you been sleeping at all?"

"I haven't been able to. Coffee helps."

He sounded… broken. Like there was nothing good in his life anymore.

"You know where the bathroom is. Go ahead and put your clothes on."

Nikki nodded and went into the bathroom. As she took off Max's hoodie, she didn't feel quite so safe anymore. Was this why he wore it all the time? She dug in her bag and found a pair of sleep shorts she'd intended to wear to a sleepover at Tabii's after the party. That would do for now. She added one of her sleep shirts—a shirt, she realized with a pang, that had belonged to Max originally. Finally, she put the hoodie back on and headed into the living room.

Max was staring at the empty fireplace, his thoughts far away and the brightness in his eyes gone. She hadn't even considered the fact that maybe Max was hurting just as much as her. He seemed like the walking dead at the moment—lifeless and dull, a far cry from the boy she'd gone out with for five months. Taking a deep breath, Nikki sat down next to him on the couch, snapping him out of his daze.

"Oh, sorry," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I was just thinking. Is that my hoodie?"

"I like it," she replied stubbornly. "You never let me wear it when we were together and it's comfy."

He laughed humorlessly.

"And… now we have to talk."

"Sasha told you everything."

"But I want to hear it from _you._ "

"Okay. So, after I met you and we started hanging out, Sasha proposed a little job to me. You already know I do favors for cash. She wanted me to find out stuff about you and tell it to her so she could crush you. To convince me, she told me the story about what she did to you—swapping it so that she was the victim and you were the one who did it."

"And that convinced you to take the five hundred dollars she offered you for the job?"

" _That's_ how much she told you? Wow, Sasha. Way to make me sound like a cheap ho."

"How much did she offer?"

"The five hundred was up front. And… if I completed the job, she'd give me another thousand."

"She offered you _fifteen hundred dollars_ to break my heart?!"

"Not to break your heart, no. To… to hurt you emotionally. Dating you wasn't part of the plan at first, then she was all for it because it meant you'd tell me more. It was about the time that we went on the camping trip that I started wanting to back out."

"Then what happened?"

"We were together a couple more months, and Sasha started getting pissed because I wasn't getting her the results she wanted. I… I told her that I didn't want to do it anymore, but she wasn't having it."

"What did she do?"

"She threatened me. She told me that if I backed out of our deal, she'd tell you everything. And report my business to the school board to get David fired. I was trapped in a corner and I was trying to find a way out that didn't involve me losing you or David losing his job."

"If you'd told me…"

"Would you have reacted any differently?" She was silent.

"No, I wouldn't have."

"So I stayed with you, and for the first time in my life, I felt _happy_. Like, actually happy. I could smile without forcing myself to, and I could laugh for real. Valentine's Day happened and we had sex, and…"

"I already know Sasha was your first."

"Yeah. It was an impulse decision over a year ago that only happened _once_. I didn't feel anything afterwards, unlike people in the movies, so I assumed it was Hollywood bullshit until you. I felt like it was something I wanted to do again and again—just waking up with you next to me, holding you close."

"What changed? I mean, obviously, you called things off with Sasha, but what made you do it?"

"You told me the real version of what happened, the day of David and Gwen's wedding. You aren't the type of person to lie to get a person to do what you want, so I knew Sasha had lied. When I went off on my own at the reception, it was to call Sasha and tell her I quit."

"Max…"

"She told you _her_ version of what happened, obviously, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I thought, after that, she'd leave you alone. I let myself enjoy that last night with you before it all went to shit the next day. You know what happened—I ignored you for almost a week, trying to forget, and you gave me a black eye. Nice punch, by the way."

"And then Neil heard about it."

"I gave him a message to give you. Did he?"

"That you didn't lie about how you felt and you wished you could take it all back? Yeah."

"Well, he didn't give you the whole message, then. The last part of it was that I still love you."

There. He'd laid it all out for her. His reasons for keeping up with Sasha's demented request, why he hadn't told her any of it before, and why he'd acted like a dick the week after. But… something didn't add up.

"How did you know I was at the party tonight?"

"I got a text from Pikeman. He told me that both you and Sasha were at the party and that Sasha was hunting for you. I had a bad feeling, so I grabbed my keys and drove up there just in time to see them topple the tent."

"Sasha was so mad at you."

"I still can't believe she pulled that bullshit. That was _bad_ , even for Her Royal Bitchiness, Pain-In-The-Ass."

Something else about Max's story stuck out in Nikki's head.

"What about reporting you to the school board?" Max refused to look her in the eye. "Max, did she do it?"

"No."

"So, it was a bluff."

"No, it wasn't. I told her… I told her not to bother because I was turning myself in. My disciplinary hearing's on Monday, when we go back to school. I'm pleading guilty. Besides, it'll get me out of your life and give you the fresh start you need. You deserve a guy who won't sell you out like I did—someone who's not a piece of shit like me."

The gravity of Max's words hit Nikki like a freight train.

He was giving himself up to save David's job. He'd ended the arrangement with Sasha because he couldn't hurt her that way. He'd rushed in at the _thought_ that she might be in trouble and rushed her out of a bad situation. He still _loved her_ , after she punched him and dumped him. And now he was willing to let himself essentially _go to jail_ because he wanted her to be happy.

"Like I said, I'll take you home in the morning, and then you never have to see me—"

 _WHAP!_

Nikki slapped him across the face. He held his injured cheek and looked at her. Tears were once again streaming from her eyes, but this time, they were tears of anger.

"How do _you_ know what I need?!" she snapped. "You said I need a fresh start and that I don't deserve a piece of shit like you?! Fuck that!"

"Nikki—"

"No! Shut up! It's my turn to talk!" She took a deep breath. "These past couple weeks have been _awful_. You know why?! Because _you_ haven't been there. You haven't been talking to me or making me laugh or letting me vent about my frustration-of-the-week. Were you selfish to take the job from Sasha? Yes. But you _continued_ with it for David's sake, which wasn't as selfish as you think. You and I were going to get hurt either way, but David… David was innocent in all this. You kept going to save his job." He stared at her. "But… I was being stupid about this. Instead of giving you a chance to explain what was going on, I took what Sasha said at face value and got angry. I broke up with you and gave you a black eye instead of trusting my instincts."

"What else… did she tell you?"

"She told me that you were planning to leave me for her, which now, thanks to Erin, I _know_ was a load of bullshit. Erin told me you hate Sasha."

"I do." He balled his hand into a fist. "I want to hurt that bitch for what she did to you. Make her _regret_ everything she's ever done."

Nikki could see he was shaking, his body leaning towards her subconsciously.

 _I won't touch you._

"Max… let's focus on that tomorrow. For now, let's just… make up." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, giving him a hug at the same time. He held her to him.

"Please don't let this be a dream," he murmured. "That would be more fucked up than anything else that's happened these past couple weeks. I love you so much, Nik."

"I love you, too. And I'm sorry I punched you."

"The way I hurt you? I'd take a million more if it meant you'd smile."

They sat there for another minute, just holding each other on the couch. Then Max sighed.

"We'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah." She got up, but he stayed where he was. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Nope. We made up and we're back together."

"Wait, we are?"

"Unless you don't want to be."

"Hey, of course I do!"

"Then _come on_!" She pulled him along into the bedroom and they got into the bed, cuddling close again.

"I swear that if I wake up and you're gone, I'm going to take that as a sign of sleep-deprivation-induced hallucination."

"I'll still be here. Don't worry." She tapped him on the nose. " _Boop_!"

"God, you're adorable."

"And you're an asshole, but I love you anyway."


	11. Trial by Board

"Morning."

Max thought he was dreaming when he heard Nikki's voice in the early morning. After all, she hated him, right? And he was up at the cabin while she was back in town.

"Max, time to get up." Someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Nikki's face over his. She was smiling… and still wearing his hoodie.

 _Last night actually happened._

It was a bittersweet feeling—he and Nikki were back together, but at the expense of Nikki being exposed to half the high school population of the town of Sleepy Peak. He wanted to kill Sasha for that but knew Nikki would want to get in on the action. There was no way in Hell he was going to let his girlfriend go to prison for murder.

"It wasn't a dream," he murmured. "You're actually here."

"Yeah, and we have revenge against Sasha to plan, so let's get going."

"What about breakfast?" He got up and pulled off his shirt.

"We'll pick up something at Naomi's! I took care of the trash and the coffee mugs a little bit ago, so hurry up!" She smirked at him shirtless.

"Babe, I know I look good, but I need some privacy."

"I've seen it all before."

"Yeah, but not when we're about to execute a queen bee."

She stuck out her tongue but closed the door anyway. He quickly got dressed and came out into the living room, where he found… she was still wearing his hoodie.

"Can I have my hoodie back, please?"

"Nope. It's mine now. That's the rule—if a guy gives his girlfriend his hoodie, he doesn't get it back unless they break up."

"Well, shit." He was smiling, though, so she knew it was fine. "Get in the car. Hope Naomi's open this early."

"She opens at eight AM on the weekends. It's Saturday."

"Right."

They both got into the car and Max headed for town. Nikki turned the radio on and started singing along to the music. It felt like the breakup had never happened. Within minutes of arriving in town, they reached Naomi's. The redhead was humming as she cleaned tables and Charlie was reading a book on… quantum mechanics?

"Hey, Naomi!" Max greeted her.

"You're back." She crossed her arms and smirked. "And here I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"Where else would I get coffee?"

"So, black coffee, hot cocoa, and some breakfast pastries?"

"Perfect!" Nikki replied, giving her a thumbs-up. Naomi headed in back while Charlie quietly closed her book and faced the two.

"You're back together now. Good. I'll let Rosemary know."

"Wait, Rosemary? How do you know her?"

"We're friends. I'm the brains behind every plan she hatches, and this one's no exception. How do you think she knew about your little arrangement with Sasha? I'm in here all the time, since Naomi's my legal guardian until I'm eighteen, so I'm _bound_ to hear something."

"Rosemary _knew_?!" Nikki gasped.

"She's got spies everywhere in Sleepy Peak. Nothing happens without her knowing about it. If her father had her spy network, he'd be three times richer."

"Even at Sleepy Peak High?" Max asked, confused.

"Yep. Why do you think Pikeman went out with Sasha in the first place?"

"Because he has a thing for strawberry blondes or some shit?"

"Because she needed someone besides _me_ to gather intel. He's not actually interested in Sasha, anyway. The point is, she's got the money and means to bring Sasha down once and for all, if you'll accept her help."

"We accept," the couple said in unison.

"Good." She pulled out her phone and sent a text. "Oh, by the way, Nikki, your mother was in here about ten minutes ago, looking for you. I'd suggest heading home and letting her know you're all right before we do any planning."

"Shit," Max muttered. "Tell your sister to keep breakfast warm. We'll be back in half an hour."

* * *

"You're _back together_?!"

Neil's shocked voice echoed around the house.

"Yes, we are," Nikki sighed. "We talked it over and we patched things up. Now we have to take down Sasha. Are you in or not?"

"I'm in, but I want details later. That sort of thing doesn't just _happen_."

"Take care of Nikki," Candy told Max. "I'm warnin' you, though, if you hurt her again, I will not _hesitate_ to kick you in the—"

"Mom!" Nikki protested. "We have to go!"

"Fine. Remember my rules."

"Yes, ma'am," Max replied, grabbing Nikki's hand.

Once Neil, Nikki, and Max were in the car, Nikki pulled out her phone.

"Rosemary says she's at Naomi's. Nurf, Preston, Erin, Tabii, and Pikeman are with her," she informed Max.

"Can somebody _please_ fill me in on what's going on?" Neil asked.

"Long story short—Rosemary's the spymaster of Sleepy Peak and she's going to use her money and power to help us take down Sasha," Max reported.

"This is _crazy_!"

"Yeah, but we're going to get through it." He parked the car and the three ran into the bakery/café. Rosemary was sitting at a booth, sipping something out of a cup.

"You're here," she said with a smile. Her little gang was around her.

"So, _this_ is your spy network?" Max asked.

"Nope. The only ones here who are my spies are Charlie and Pikeman. Everyone else is just here to help."

"Nikki, we're _so_ sorry we didn't help with Sasha last night," Erin apologized.

"We couldn't get through the crowd," Tabii added.

"It's okay. Besides, me and Max are back together now."

"I guessed that from the hoodie. It looks good on you."

"Ladies, focus!" Preston snapped.

"Max, what exactly did you turn yourself in for?" Rosemary asked.

"I'm in for plagiarism, extortion, and forging papers."

"Well, you see, what you were doing wasn't plagiarism. The people who _bought_ from you were plagiarizing, claiming your words as their own. And they willingly paid for those papers, so it's not extortion or forgery, either. You're in the clear. They'd only punish you to make an example."

"Damn! How do you know all this?" Neil gasped.

"When your father's in as much trouble with the law as mine has been, you tend to learn a thing or two about how to work within the rules. We simply have a few of your former clients go up, testify that they asked and paid for those papers, and then Sasha looks like an idiot."

"One problem: Sasha can scare them into _not_ testifying."

"If all else fails, I'll take the fall."

Everyone stared at her.

"Y-you?" Pikeman stammered. "But, RM…"

"My dad can pay off the board to get me out. Plus, he'd be proud of me for coming up with a 'money-making scheme' of this magnitude."

"Why not just pay them off for Max?" Preston inquired.

"Because unfortunately, my father doesn't give me enough to do that. If it's for his own child, sure, but not the child of one of his teachers."

"This seems like a solid plan," Nikki complimented. "And once it's all over, everything can go back to normal."

"I _do_ have a couple of conditions for me helping you," Rosemary warned. "First, you'll owe me. You can pay it off by becoming one of my informants. Easy enough. And the other condition is that you'll stop your business. I might not be able to help you get off next time."

"That's fair," Max agreed, shrugging.

"Good. I'm glad we're in agreement."

* * *

Sunday came and went, with David and Gwen both conflicted over the news of Max and Nikki's reconciliation. Monday arrived and Max went before the school board, Nikki right there behind him (she wasn't allowed to be beside him) for support. Principal Campbell worriedly looked at his daughter in the crowd, but she just had a smirk for her old man. Sasha was smirking, too, but was also glancing at Nikki and Max with concern.

"Mr. Greene," Mr. Pottersworth, the old superintendent, read out. "You have turned yourself in, claiming to run a business where you sell essays, homework, and favors for money. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

"But… you turned yourself in," Mr. Campbell pointed out.

"And I've had almost two weeks to think about it. I did nothing illegal, since everything was paid for by the students and I wrote the papers."

"We've tried to get in contact with your clients," Mr. Pottersworth stated. "However, only _one_ was willing to come forward and testify. Miss Harris?"

Sasha flicked her hair and came forward.

"Max has been running that business since we were freshman. It's totally against school rules and he needs to be expelled and arrested and whatever. I paid for a couple of papers that I ran out of time on because being popular and super-involved means I don't have a lot of time. But still, it's not right and the students don't learn _anything_."

"That's a good argument. Mr. Greene, your reply?"

"That's rich, saying you bought a couple papers," Max told Sasha. "Every time you had an out-of-class essay to write for English, you'd pay me fifty bucks to write it _for you_. Not to mention the _five hundred_ you paid me at the beginning of the year to mess with another girl's emotional state."

"Um…" Sasha fidgeted nervously. Mr. Pottersworth gazed with interest.

"In fact, despite the fact that I was _unwilling_ to fulfill the bargain, _you_ chose to keep me in by threatening both the girl _and_ my adoptive father—an employee of Campbell High. Isn't that right?"

"No!"

"Little _quick_ to defend, aren't we, Sasha? Or have we forgotten what you did to that same girl last Friday?"

"Objection: irrelevant!"

"This isn't a courtroom, kid," Campbell snorted. "Let him speak."

"You _humiliated_ her in front of half the high schoolers in the county, with _no remorse_ , as well as stealing her private property in the form of an overnight bag. Not to mention the emotional distress you've caused _dozens_ of other students over the past few years, including me. The only reason I turned myself in was because _you_ would've done it otherwise. Nobody would be in here today if it weren't for _you_."

"Miss Harris, is this true?" Mr. Pottersworth asked.

"It was a harmless _prank_!" Sasha insisted.

"No, it wasn't!" Nikki called.

"Miss Morrison? Is that you?" Campbell inquired.

"Yes, sir. And I'd like to say that Miss Harris is lying. It wasn't a harmless prank."

"Come forward, young lady," Mr. Pottersworth urged. "Miss Harris, you may sit down."

Sasha and Nikki did as they were told, Nikki taking the seat Sasha had just left.

"I was invited to a party at the lake last Friday night. While I was there, Sasha _intentionally_ spilled punch on the dress I was wearing. I always bring a bag and a change of clothes to those kinds of things, so I went into a small tent that was set up at the party. When I went in, the bag was gone after I took off my dress and Sasha had two people push the tent over so everyone could see me. She also took the stained dress so I couldn't…" Her voice trailed off. Neil had to be held down by Nurf to keep him from attacking Sasha. "Max showed up a few moments later and got me out of there. He even lent me his hoodie so I could keep myself covered."

Everyone started whispering at this revelation. Mr. Pottersworth stood up.

"In light of this new information, we find it best to reconvene at a later time for the hearing of Miss Harris, rather than Mr. Greene. Mr. Greene, you are cleared of your charges. Just stay on the right path, son."

"NO FAIR!" Sasha whined, standing up. "H-he went back on his word!"

"I _gave_ you the money back," Max snorted. "It's not my fault you're a vindictive bitch."

"I'd say she's an ignorant fucking cunt," Neil growled.

"Now, Neil, let's let the _system_ take care of her." Max smirked and Sasha knew she wasn't getting out of this.

She'd lost.


	12. Epilogue: The Final Bell

Ah, senior year.

Simultaneously the most relaxing and most stressful part of high school. It was the point where the only things you had to worry about were getting the last couple credits you needed, applying for college, and scholarships. A time where you just counted down the days 'til graduation, ready to move on with the next stage of your life.

And Max was ready to start his.

After Sasha was exposed for what she'd done to Nikki, she hadn't gotten expelled. Rather, her family had been sued for damages—both the emotional damage and the hair-cutting she'd performed on Nikki. The suit had been settled out of court for 500,000 dollars, much to the relief of Nikki. Sasha no longer had the money to hold over the other girl's head and quickly lost her power at SPHS.

But enough about that. You're all here for the heartwarming stuff after everything our precious beans have been through. So, let's move on!

"Shit! I'm late!"

Gwen headed for the door.

"Keys!" Max called to her as he ate breakfast with Nikki.

"Right! I swear, these pregnancy hormones are making me insane." She grabbed her keys and headed for the door again.

"How far along is she again?" Nikki inquired.

"Four months. David told her to take it easy, but it's Gwen. She's not going to."

"Where _is_ David?"

"He headed to the school early to set up. Which means we have the house to ourselves."

"And school starts in less than half an hour."

"Shit. Right." He gave her a quick kiss before putting his dishes in the dishwasher. "Well, time to go."

"Yep!" She smiled and put her own dishes away before following him to the door.

When they got to the school, Neil was waiting for them.

"Well, how was breakfast?" he asked.

"It was a perfect first-day-of-school breakfast," Nikki replied. "How about you?"

"Dropped Tabii off at SPHS and came straight here."

"Finally lose your virginity?" Max joked.

"Shut up! Besides, we decided to wait until we're done with high school to do that. Not everybody needs it the way you two do."

"Hey!" both yelled.

"I'm joking. You don't do it that often. Though, little tip: keep it down when you're doing it at our place."

Max and Nikki blushed intensely.

"What's up, guys?" asked Rosemary, walking up with Nurf and Preston flanking her.

"I was never clear on what role those two play as your minions," Max told her.

"I'm the muscle and he's the actor," Nurf replied. "Plus, we're a package deal as a couple, so it was either both of us or neither of us."

"And they are the _best_!" Rosemary put an arm around each guy. "Let's get to class."

They all headed into the building at the sound of the bell and took in their surroundings. The wide-eyed freshman were still taking in their surroundings with the notes of fear or overconfidence they always did. The sophomores were doing the thing they did where they were glad not to be freshman and being douchebags instead. Juniors were exhausted and praying for senior year. And the seniors? Well, they were just glad to be near the end.

Speaking of the end, I'm afraid that's where our story does. End, that is.

Thanks to all of you who stuck around for this little story, and know that an author's note will be up to follow this epilogue. Thank you and good night.


	13. Final Note

Kamije Celeek here. Hi! How are you all doing? Thanks for sticking around for this story that I wrote in about four days. Seriously, I've spent the majority of time in my room the past few days, but it was worth it to complete this story.

Whoa, holy shit. I _actually_ completed a multichapter story that had more than five chapters. Is the apocalypse coming? No? I think we're good. I had fun writing this, and I hope you all had fun reading it.

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering, if you've read any of my other stories, where the hell all my usual notes are. This story doesn't have _any_ , except this one, because it was an attempt to break that habit. I spend a lot of time on author's notes, and for this story, I decided to not write any until the end so I could focus on the story. Speaking of story, this one was heavily inspired by the story "A Nice Game to Play" over on AO3. You should totally go read it and bug the author to update because it's really good. Just kidding. Do what you want.

During the time I was writing this story, I was extremely nervous about how it would be received. This isn't my usual style of writing, due to all the drama and angst, and I was worried about how I'd handle it. Maybe I _did_ rush the plot and give it a hasty conclusion, but to tell you guys the truth, by the time it came to that final confrontation, I was burnt out from writing Sasha's bitchiness. I just wanted to give our precious campers a happy ending.

But… I think a lot of my steam for writing this came from the fact that I actually had two audiences reading this at once. I have the crowd over on Fanfiction, and the gang over on AO3. There's been a lot of support coming to me through these two forums, and that's what it came down to for my writing. I love everyone who's read this story, even the person who just commented that the names sucked. I know. I'm bad at this.

But, you know, fuck it.

Here's to five-and-a-half years of me writing and publishing fanfiction, and every year to come.

So long and thanks for all the fish!


End file.
